The Girl With The Black Ribbon
by LovelyJB
Summary: After a serial killer strikes, all evidence points to Aerith. But something doesn’t add up, and Cid, Tifa, Zack and Cloud find out there is a much darker, twisted side to this story than meets the eye. Can they prove innocence? AU. NCIS crossover.
1. Prologue

**This story is going to be more realistic than my other stories, set in a modern AU. I'm stilll thinking up the storyline, so I'm not sure what'll happen next.**

**Hop****e**** you'll like it. Romance is not a BIG thing in this story (for once) but I've implied enough to let you know who's with who, but I'm telling you now it's not a 'falls deeply madly truly in love' kinda romance. :P**

* * *

A young man sat patiently at a table outside a restaurant. 

He wore a grey suit with a top hat and tie to match, covering his tied-back silver hair. He chuckled with amusement at the object in his hand, the toothpick in his mouth shifting from tooth to tooth. He leaned back onto his chair, looking around for someone.

It was fairly dark, being almost 1am, but the city was still bright beyond belief. The man let out a loud yawn and arched up his back. He settled down again to find a beautiful young woman walking over to his table. He looked down at the photograph in his hand and smirked. He stood up and took the toothpick out of his mouth.

"Ms G, I presume?" he said with a strong New York accent. He extended his hand to the woman.

She lifted her emerald green eyes up to him, flicking the chestnut brown hair out of her face, tied up with a black ribbon. She shook his hand and nodded slightly.

"Yes," she replied quietly. "And you must be Kadaj." Kadaj smirked again and nodded.

"Yeah." He glanced back down at the photograph in his hand. "And you're even better lookin' in person than in this photo." He laughed, making her feel uncomfortable. She cleared her throat loudly.

"Our agreement?" she muttered, dropping her gaze. "…Mr Kadaj?" Kadaj continued to watch her with amusement.

"You want to meet up with my boss Sephiroth for some business, right?" She nodded. "May I ask why, Ms G?" She looked back into his equally green eyes, keeping her face straight.

"Maybe we should discuss this somewhere else," she suggested. Kadaj glanced around the restaurant. She was right; there were a lot of people around. He smiled again at her.

"Of course." He placed a hand on her back and led her towards a hotel across the street. She nervously pressed her handbag into her chest, hugging it tightly as she took a few deep breaths.

"I need to meet up with Sephiroth immediately," she said. Kadaj just nodded.

He led her into his hotel room and closed the door behind them. He threw his hat onto a stand and collapsed into a chair.

"I remember you tellin' us that you know somethin' about my boss," he muttered, his face now serious. "Somethin' big." She nodded, still standing.

"I have evidence on the _Cetra_ court case," she said, taking out a file from her handbag. Kadaj sat up slightly. "Evidence that will show what really happened in '98." She smiled, a manic look in her eyes. "Evidence that will put Sephiroth up for life." Kadaj scoffed.

"And you came here to confront him about it?" he asked lazily. "Instead of going to the cops? Geez, for being a looker, you ain't got much up there." He tapped his temple with his finger. She shook her head, putting the file away.

"I've been researching about Sephiroth and this case for almost 5 years," she said, her voice trembling. "And now that I finally have the evidence, I'm going to bring him to justice."

Kadaj wasn't smiling anymore; he knew about the case in '98, and he knew what it could do to his boss. He knew she had asked Sephiroth to meet up with her so she could securely have him arrested, and from what Kadaj had heard about the case, Sephiroth could either get the death penalty or life in prison.

He bit his lip and shot up from the chair. He smiled smugly and walked over.

"Yeah, that seems good," he said lightly. He eyed the file. "Why don't cha let me hold onto that file for ya?" He reached out for it, but she hastily grabbed it and hugged it tightly.

"No!" she exclaimed. Kadaj was getting impatient.

"Give it to me!"

"NO!"

He grabbed her around the waist and struggled to pull her arms out of the firm grip. But she was strong. She tried hard to get away, but Kadaj wouldn't let her go.

They both collapsed onto the ground, still struggling to get the file. Kadaj reached for her head and ripped out a lock of chestnut hair. She let out a pained scream as the ribbon and the hair fell onto the floor in a pile.

She nudged her elbow hard into his stomach, forcing him to release her. She scrambled onto her feet towards the door, but it was locked. Kadaj let out a frustrated grunt and glared menacingly up at her, his hair over his eyes.

"You little bitch…" he muttered. He sprung himself at the girl, who narrowly escaped.

She darted into the kitchen, Kadaj following her dangerously.

She let out a gasp as she discovered she was trapped, nowhere else to run. Kadaj cackled as he closed the kitchen door.

"Nowhere to run now, Ms G." He slowly walked over to her with his arm extended. "Now…" he said cautiously. "Just gimme the file…" She shook her head, her eyes widen and terrified.

"No…" She slowly backed away. She grabbed a large knife behind her and held it threateningly in front of her. "Stay away from me…" Kadaj wasn't fooled.

"C'mon," he laughed, still approaching her. "You can't even hold the knife prop'ly." His laughter ceased immediately and his eyes grew even more menacing.

Without warning, he jumped at her. She let out a scream and withdrew the knife. Within a microsecond, she closed her eyes and thrust it into Kadaj's body.

He let out a splutter as blood gushed out of his mouth and his wound, the knife piercing through him. Blood sprang all over as Kadaj collapsed on top of her, bringing her down to the ground with him.

She let out a sob and opened her tear-filled eyes. She screamed again and pushed the bloody body off her. She scrambled to her feet and stared down, mortified, at Kadaj.

"Oh God…" She looked at her dress. It was drenched in blood. She automatically dropped the knife with disgust. She let out a cry of pain as she realized that the knife handle had cut her, and her hand was bleeding. She looked frantically back at Kadaj, at his hollow eyes.

She had to run.

Her eyes fell on the file at his side; the one Kadaj had risked his life to take from her. She slowly bent down and picked it up, the blood sticking to her hands. She wiped her sweaty forehead, clutching the file. She backed away from the body.

As she reached the front door, she reached for the handle, and as soon as she pulled it open, she ran as fast as she could out of the building.

She couldn't see where she was going, her eyes were clouded with tears. She almost knocked into someone.

"Hey," the red-haired man exclaimed. "Watch it!" She didn't stop.

She just kept running.


	2. Nibelheim Criminal Investigative Service

**NCIS is one of my favourite shows, so I'm fusing this story with it. I've given the characters roles of the NCIS characters.**

**Cid - Gibbs**

**Zack - DiNozzo**

**Tifa - Kate/Ziva (a little of both)  
**

**Vincent - Ducky (not the personality, only the position)**

**Yuffie - Abby**

**Cloud - …**** okay, so I can't compare Cloud with McGee, but he will be the third Special Agent.**

**Barret - Fornell, I guess. There doesn't seem to be any other positions he'd fit.  
**

* * *

It was 7am in the office.

Zack let out a yawn and leaned back leisurely on his chair, smiling with satisfaction. He ignored the papers on his desk and set his feet up. He heard the front door opening and glanced over.

A blonde young man, Cloud Strife, walked past Zack's desk, to his own. He shot Zack a confused look.

"You're early," he commented. Zack smirked.

"Why wouldn't I be, Probie? I am…Senior Officer, of course," he boasted proudly. Cloud grinned and rolled his eyes.

"No…" he said, sitting down on his chair. "I meant you're early, despite staying out all night with Tifa." Zack laughed, sitting up again. Cloud watched him, amused.

"One helluva a night, huh?" Zack sighed, still grinning.

"It's a night I'm sure Tifa will never forget," he muttered dreamily. "I was awesome, like always." Cloud rolled his eyes. "The night was so full of passion and love…" He grinned at Cloud. "She let me go all the way."

An abrupt slap on the back of Zack's head came when Tifa Lockhart, a beautiful young woman with long black hair, walked into the office.

"Yeah," she said sarcastically. "If you mean by kicking your ass." Cloud tried hard not to smile as Tifa sat down at her desk, glaring at Zack. "That was the worst excuse for a date in the history of mankind!" Zack smiled and shrugged.

"Oh, c'mon Tifa. I wasn't that bad…"

"SHUT UP!" She looked quickly at Cloud, her eyes widening as she realized he was laughing. "Hey! I did NOT sleep with him!" She turned back to Zack, standing up. "You took me to a BAR, for God's sake. You drank about 20 beers and made me pay, got drunk, made me drag your pathetic butt home, and you THREW UP ON ME!" Cloud burst out laughing, as did Zack. Tifa glared at the men angrily.

"It's not funny!"

"Sorry, Tifa," Zack choked. "At least I got you to come over and stay all night." He looked at Cloud, who had stopped laughing. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a 50 dollar bill, folded it into a plane and threw it to Zack. Tifa merely let out a scoff and mumbled something like 'men' under her breath, and sat back down. Zack continued to stare at her.

"Hey," he said softly, giving her a sweet smile. Tifa ignored him. "Hey, I'll make it up to you, okay?"

Tifa continued to ignore him. She spotted a small parcel on her table. She frowned and picked it up, ripping it open. Her expression softened at the gift; a cute key ring. She looked back up at Zack and smiled.

"Okay," she said. "But I'll let you have another drink over my dead body." She playfully pointed her fingers like a gun at him and imitated a shot. Zack merely smiled.

"Okay, love birds," came a gruff male voice form the door. "Fun's over."

The three colleagues turned around as Cid Highwind walked into the office. They immediately stood up.

"Morning, boss," Zack and Cloud chanted.

"Morning, Cid," Tifa said. Cid merely nodded, going straight to his desk. He took out all his equipment.

"Got a homicide investigation downtown," he said loudly. He walked over to them as they stepped out of their cubicles. "Stabbed kid." The trio nodded, taking out their guns and equipment as Cid walked off first.

* * *

As they arrived on the crime scene, all dressed in their NCIS uniform, several other investigators were there. Barrett Wallace turned around from a red-haired man to see them.

"Highwind," he said gruffly. "Glad you could make it." Cid merely nodded.

"Where's the body?" he asked.

"In the kitchen," Barret replied grimly. "Vince is on it." Cid nodded again, brushing right past the red-haired man.

Cloud started photographing the bloodstained handprints on the walls, as Zack and Tifa went over to Barret.

"He said he saw a girl run out of the building, covered in blood," Barret said. "I'll leave it to you." He exchanged a look with Zack, and left. Zack turned to the young man.

"I'm Special Agent Fair, and this is Special Agent Lockhart." Tifa gave him a nod. "We're from NCIS."

"Reno," the young man said weakly. "Just call me Reno." Tifa smiled.

"Okay, Reno," she said gently. "Could you please tell us exactly what happened?" Reno swallowed.

"A girl ran out of the hotel last night at around 1am," he said quietly. "And she was covered in blood from top to bottom." Tifa nodded as Zack took down notes. He looked back at Reno.

"Would you come with us to HQ, please? We'll need an official statement and description." Reno nodded, still shaken. Zack turned over to Cloud.

"Hey!" he called out. Cloud turned around. "We're gonna head back first!" Cloud nodded and resumed his work.

Cid cautiously walked into the small blood-covered kitchen where the Medical Examiner, a black-haired man, was kneeling over a dead body.

"What have you got, Vince?" Vincent sat up, staring at the body grimly.

"Young man, possibly in his late-teens or early-20s," he muttered darkly. "Stabbed from the front in the chest cavity."

"Instant death?" Vincent sighed, shaking his head.

"Though critically wounded, he was unconscious for quite a while. I'm saying he had a long, painful death." Cid nodded, walking around to the other side of the body.

"Found out who he is yet?" Vincent nodded.

"Kadaj Jenovic," he stated. "Part of an elite Mafia gang." He glanced at Cid. "One of the many reasons why I think he didn't stab himself with that knife." Cid rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Any traces of the killer?"

"From the murder weapon," Vincent said, holding it up in a plastic bag. "We'll trace the fingerprints and DNA from it." Cid nodded.

"Boss!" Cloud called out, running to him. Cid turned to him.

"What is it?" Cloud held up a plastic bag with a lock of chestnut brown hair and a black ribbon inside.

"This is probably the killer's, boss," he said breathlessly. He handed it to Vincent, who studied it carefully. Cloud took a few shots of the body.

"There were strands of hair left on the victim's hand," he muttered. "There was probably a fight, and Kadaj ripped the killer's hair out." He gave it to his assistant. "Take it down to Yuffie, our Forensic specialist." The assistant nodded and ran off.

"The hotel owners say they have footage of the murder on tape," Cid said, staring around at the ceiling. Surely enough, he spotted a camera. Vincent followed his gaze.

"And?" Cid emitted a heavy sigh.

"I'll have my team look at it." He looked back down at Kadaj again.

"A crime of passion?" Vincent sighed, shaking his head.

"Too early to tell, in my opinion." He pulled the blanket over Kadaj's face. "But I think we should trace back to the leader of the victim's gang. Maybe he would have something to do with this incident."

Cid nodded.

* * *

"Yes," Tifa said into the telephone. "Brown hair, green eyes, about 20 to 26 years old…"

A young woman with short black hair and gothic clothes entered the office, followed closely by Cid.

"Yuffie's got the killer's DNA," he muttered, rushing to the plasma. "And I've got the murder footage." Zack, Tifa and Cloud dropped everything and glued their eyes to the plasma.

Cid pressed play on the remote and they watched in silent horror at the footage.

It only showed what happened in the first room, not in the kitchen where Kadaj was killed, but it definitely showed a girl running out of the kitchen, covered in blood.

"Wish we could hear what they were talking about," Zack muttered grimly. Cid pressed pause and zoomed in on the killer's face. Tifa let out a gasp and covered her mouth with her hands. No one noticed.

Cloud couldn't take his eyes off the girl.

"She's… the killer?" he mumbled mindlessly. "But she's beautiful…" Cid slapped the back on Cloud's head, jolting him back to reality.

"Beautiful and deadly," he added irritably. He turned around to Yuffie. She smiled at him.

"Okay," she said brightly. "I ran some tests, and lucky for us there were traces of the killer's blood, hair and fingerprints left behind. I looked it all up and surprisingly this girl is already in the record." Cid pressed another button, reducing the screenshot to the side and inserting a picture of a beautiful green-eyed, brown haired girl. Tifa dropped her notes.

Yep," Yuffie continued. "The girl with the black ribbon is…"

"Aerith…" Tifa muttered suddenly. All eyes were on her. Yuffie frowned.

"How did you know?" she asked, slightly surprised. Tifa didn't take her eyes off the screen.

"Aerith Gainsborough," she said weakly. "She… she's my friend from high school." Her eyes shot over to Cid. "And I know for a fact that she would never kill anyone." Zack shrugged.

"It was a struggle," he said. "Manslaughter." Tifa shook her head firmly.

"She didn't kill him!" She looked back at the screenshot. "That can't be her. Someone set her up or something. She would never do something like this." Yuffie exhaled deeply and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Her fingerprints and DNA samples match, Tifa," she said in a soft voice. Tifa shook her head again.

"Something must have gone wrong, because that is NOT Aerith…" Cid cleared his throat loudly. Yuffie straightened up and continued.

"Aerith Gainsborough, 22, a nurse at Midgar Children's Hospital." Cid pressed a button and a picture of a silver haired man was inserted.

"Meet Sephiroth," he said, pacing. "Leader of the Midgar mafia, the victim's boss. Accused of the brutal murder of Aerith's parents Ifalna and Faremis Gast in 1998. The case dissolved in '01, and Sephiroth was proven not guilty, although it was clear to see that some tampering was made." He paused. "Aerith was left with no family at all, later adopted by a friend of her mother's, Elmyra Gainsborough, taking her name. Aerith publicly swore revenge after the court case." He stopped, sighing. He glanced at a thunderstruck Tifa. "It looks like everything points to her." He brushed past her and towards the door. Yuffie, Zack and Cloud tried to comfort the distressed brunette.

"Hey!" Cid called out. "Let's go." Zack frowned.

"What? Now?" Cid nodded. He shot one last glance at the plasma.

"Time to pay Midgar a visit."

* * *

**What will happen next? XD**


	3. We're Missing Something

Midgar Children's Hospital was always a busy place.

Children running around everywhere, even with broken arms and legs. A little girl with a moogle doll ran up to a young nurse who was tending to a young boy.

"Sister," she said, tugging her dress. "Sister come play with us." The nurse smiled.

"In a minute," she said softly, turning back to the boy. "Alright Denzel, let's see if you can move your arm now." Denzel extended his arm carefully, examining it with awe. He grinned.

"It's better again," he said happily. He hugged the nurse warmly. "You're great, Sister Aerith." Aerith smiled again and returned the hug. She lifted Denzel off his seat and put him onto the ground. Another little girl with a cast ran over to him.

"Oh cool! You're all better!" she cried, beaming at him. She ran over and hugged Aerith around the waist. Aerith chuckled.

"Now, Marlene," she said sternly. "I don't want you to break that arm again." Marlene laughed, extending her arms up to her, beckoning her to pick her up. Aerith obeyed.

She carried Marlene over to the window, where a bird had landed. She pressed her finger to Marlene's lip to keep her quiet as they watched it.

"It's so pretty," Marlene whispered. Aerith nodded.

"It is, isn't it?" Marlene smiled widely.

"Can I keep him?" she asked, turning to Aerith, who laughed softly and shook her head.

"I don't think he'd like that too much." Marlene looked away, a little disappointed. She wrapped her arms around Aerith's neck and planted a wet kiss on her cheek. Aerith smiled. She felt another pair of arms wrap themselves around her. She glanced down to see Denzel. He grinned at her.

"Sister," the Moogle girl called out, running in from another room. Aerith turned around to her. "Sister there are some big people who want to see you." Aerith frowned.

"Really?" She gently pushed Denzel away and put Marlene back on the ground. She walked to the door.

A young woman was anxiously waiting for her. She lifted up her head, revealing her face to the nurse under her cap. Aerith let out a gasp.

"Tifa?" she exclaimed, smiling. "Is that you?" Tifa didn't smile back, but nodded.

"Hey, Aerith." The nurse came over and hugged her.

"Oh, it's great to see you again!" Aerith said happily. Her smile faded when she saw Tifa's grim expression. "Tifa? What's wrong?" Tifa pushed Aerith away as Cid, Zack and Cloud entered the room. Cid immediately walked over to Aerith.

"Special Agent Cid Highwind," he muttered, flashing his badge at her. "NCIS." Aerith frowned, utterly confused.

"NCI-what??" Zack grabbed her and pressed her to the wall, handcuffing her roughly.

"Hey! Tifa exclaimed angrily. "Don't hurt her!" She pushed Zack off and wrapped her arms around her handcuffed friend. Zack didn't fight back, letting go easily.

"What's going on?" Aerith muttered, looking around. She glanced at Zack and Cloud, who both stared at her with blank expressions. Cid sighed.

"We'd like you to come with us back to HQ, Miss Gainsborough," he said gruffly. "There are some questions we'd like to ask you." He shot Tifa a look, forcing her to let go of Aerith.

"What?!" Aerith cried. "Wha-what are you talking about?" Cid glanced over Aerith's shoulder. The children were watching. He glanced at Zack and nodded at him.

Zack sighed and took a key out of his pocket and uncuffed Aerith.

Aerith rubbed her wrists, but plastered on a smile as she turned around to the children.

"It's okay, children," she said softly. "I'll be right back. Just stay here and be good." She turned back to Cid.

"I have no idea what's going on," she told him. "I swear to you!" Cid dropped his gaze to the ground.

"But we do," he muttered. He looked back at her. "We won't do it in front of the kids, but you'll have to come down to NCIS headquarters." Cloud went over to her and placed a hand on her back. She glared at him.

"Alright, fine," she snapped. "But someone has to tell me what is going on, and they'd better do it soon." Cloud led her outside into the car, closely followed by Cid, Zack and Tifa.

* * *

"Do you still think she's innocent?" Zack muttered to Tifa as they watched Aerith wait anxiously inside the interrogation room. Tifa crossed her arms.

"I don't know," she said quietly, shaking her head. "It all points to her, but I know she'd never hurt a fly…" Cloud stood beside her, sighed.

"She keeps saying she doesn't know anything about the murder," he said. "And for some reason, I believe her."

"For some weird reason," Zack said, staring at the girl. "I kinda believe her too." Tifa sighed, agreeing.

The door flew open with a bang. Aerith jumped in her seat as Cid calmly went over and sat in the seat opposite her, carrying some files. He kept his eyes on the papers, as Aerith waited impatiently.

"Are you going to tell me why I'm here?" she said angrily. Cloud, Zack and Tifa continued to watch. Cid didn't answer, but instead took out a large photograph and placed it in front of her. Aerith let out a cry of disgust and covered her eyes.

"Look familiar?" Cid asked, his expression not changing.

It was a photo of Kadaj's corpse at the crime scene. Aerith peeked through her fingers.

"Who…who is that?" she muttered.

"Kadaj Jenovic," Cid answered. "He was found dead this morning." Aerith shook her head.

"I've never seen him before in my life," she said quickly. Cid scoffed and took out another picture. Aerith gasped at it.

"How about this one? Does SHE look familiar to you?" Aerith grabbed the photo, her breath caught in her throat.

It was the screenshot of the girl at the crime scene.

"Th…that's me…" she said weakly. "…how is that possible…" She quickly looked at Cid. "No! This is impossible!" Cid smiled mildly.

"What is?" he asked. Aerith held up the photo.

"This!" She stared at it with scared eyes. "It… it's me, but… but it can't be me. I swear to you, I haven't been outside Midgar for 7 years." Cid took out another photo.

"How about this man?" It was a photo of Sephiroth. "I'm pretty sure you know him." Aerith stared at the photo, anger pumping through her.

"Sephiroth…" she muttered, her voice laced with pure hatred.

"Kadaj was part of his gang," Cid said matter-of-factly. Aerith looked back at him.

"I'm telling you I didn't kill him!" she exclaimed. Cid leaned forward on the table at her.

"We've got video footage of you running out of the building and inside the crime scene, as well as DNA samples matching yours found near the victim and an eye witness." He held up Sephiroth's photo and thrust it in her face. "And you have the perfect motivation." Aerith shot up from her chair.

"I did not kill that man!" Tears ran down her cheeks. "I may have the perfect motivation, but I would NEVER think of killing Sephiroth." She looked down at the screenshot. "What's going on here? Why…why am I in that video?" She looked into the mirror behind Cid, where she knew Tifa was watching. "Tifa, you know I'd never hurt anyone!" Cid stood up. His expression softened slightly.

"Your fingerprints and hair were found near the victim." He held up the plastic bag. Aerith's eyes widened as she saw the black ribbon.

"A black ribbon?" she said, her voice trembling. She shook her head. "No, that isn't mine!" She shot a look at the mirror again. "Tifa, you know I don't wear black ribbons!" She looked back at Cid. "I was framed! I did not kill that man!" Tifa, Cloud and Zack exchanged grim looks.

"She doesn't wear black ribbons," Tifa muttered in a firm voice. Cloud sighed.

"That's not enough evidence," he said darkly. Cid thought so too.

"Please," Aerith begged, sobbing. "You have to listen to me. I don't know what's going on, but I know for sure that the girl in that video isn't me!" Cid sighed, shaking his head.

"You're officially under arrest for murder," he said quietly. He went over and took her hands, hooking them with his handcuffs.

"No!" Aerith cried. "I'm innocent! I've never seen that man before in my life! There's no way that girl's me! There's no way those are my fingerprints and hair!" Cid firmly held her in her place. His expression darkened. He glanced at the mirror over his shoulder and motioned the team that it was over.

Zack hugged Tifa comfortingly as she watched Cid take Aerith away. She finally broke down completely and cried into his shoulder. Cloud continued to watch.

"Something doesn't feel right about this," he muttered.

* * *

Aerith sat in her cell, still sobbing.

She was stripped of the nurse uniform and was given an orange jumpsuit to wear. Everything had been taken away, except the pink ribbon that held up her hair.

She hugged her knees tightly, taking deep breaths.

The warden walked over to her cell, Cid, Tifa, Zack and Cloud following him. Aerith stood up. Tifa almost cried seeing her best friend in that state.

"Oh, Aerith…" She ran over and hugged her through the bars.

"Why is this happening, Tifa?" Aerith sobbed. "Why am I here? I didn't kill anyone… I swear…" Tifa nodded firmly.

"I know, sweetie," she whispered. "I know you'd never do something like this…" The warden unlocked Aerith's cell before leaving. Tifa immediately let go and ran inside to Aerith.

"The children, Tifa… the children are still waiting for me." Tifa nodded.

"What do you want me to do?" Aerith held her hand tightly.

"Just… just go to the hospital and tell them I'm okay," she said in a teary voice. Tifa nodded again, tears in her eyes. She stood up and brushed past Cid without a glance back. The three men watched grimly. Cloud went and stood by the door, his expression not changing.

"Boss…" he muttered. "If all evidence points to her as the killer…" He glanced at Cid. "Why haven't you closed the case?" Cid continued to stare at Aerith.

"Something doesn't add up," he said in a low voice. "My gut keeps telling me there's more to this story." Zack exhaled.

"It doesn't feel right," he said. Cid nodded.

"Go track down Sephiroth and get some answers out of him," he said to Zack.

"On it, boss." He left. Cloud went inside the cell and kneeled down next to Aerith. She stared at him.

"I'm Special Agent Cloud Strife," he told her. Aerith nodded.

"What's going to happen now?" she asked hoarsely. Cloud sighed and glanced at Cid.

"I don't know," he said. Aerith grabbed his hand, much to his surprise.

"I didn't kill him," she said firmly again. The look in her eyes was so pure and truthful; Cloud didn't know what to believe. He sighed and patted her hand.

"I think my boss thinks so too," he said softly. He smiled at her. "We'll do everything we can." Aerith nodded slightly. Cloud stood up and walked out of the cell, closing the door. Aerith stared at the two agents.

"I have an alibi," she told them. Cid raised an eyebrow. "I was at the hospital all night long, and I have witnesses." Cid nodded at her.

"We'll see to it that they'll have their say." He noticed her ribbon. "Do you always wear those?" Aerith nodded.

"Yeah," she replied bluntly. "But I've never wore a black one." Cid shook his head.

"That seems to be the only thing that proves your innocence, but it's not even close to being enough." He walked past Cloud. "We'll have the witness come meet you, and see if he can clear up anything." The two agents made their way to the exit. Aerith slammed herself against the cell door, gripping onto the bars.

"I want to see my mother," she called out before they could leave. Cid continued walking, but Cloud stopped and looked back at her. He smiled and nodded, before following Cid.

Aerith emitted a weary sigh and hugged herself. She stared out the window at the world outside. She shook her head.

"What on Earth is going on?"

* * *

**I always thought Tony and Kate had a thing between them. It was cute.**

**So many possibilities... **


	4. On Bail

**Hmmm, not many people seem to like this story. I really hope that changes soon. :)**

**Yay! I'm done failing my exams so I can write more! lol jks  
**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Elmyra watched Aerith sitting nervously in the modest room. Elmyra shook her head. She turned around to Cid, who was standing behind her. The ducklings (**from here on, instead of typing Cloud, Tifa and Zack, I'm gonna call them the ducklings**) stood beside him.

"How can you accuse my daughter of such a thing?" she hissed, enraged. Tifa placed a hand on her shoulder. "How can you say she killed that man??" Cid's face didn't change.

"I'm not saying anything," he muttered. "The evidence is." Elmyra closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the sickening feeling she had when she first saw the video coming back all over again.

"If Aerith says that isn't her," she said. "Then I believe her." She opened her eyes to him. "But you don't." Cid sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I told you, I'm not saying anything." Elmyra frowned.

"Why?" she asked. She studied him carefully, making Cid a little uneasy.

"I just think there's more to this than a murder case," he said. Elmyra sighed softly, looking back at Aerith.

"So you'll let me take her home?" Cid nodded. A wave of confusion hit the ducklings.

"You've asked bail for Aerith?" Tifa said, stunned. Cid closed his eyes.

"I've talked it out with the director," he said quietly. "And she's allowed to go home." He looked back at Elmyra. "But ONLY under close supervision." Elmyra beamed.

"I'll keep an eye on her," she promised. She looked back at her daughter. "Can she come home now?" Cid shook his head. He turned around to Cloud.

"Bring him in." Cloud nodded and left the room. Cid watched him.

"We just need the witness to officially identify her first," he said. "And I'm sorry, but you have to leave for this." He looked back at her. Elmyra exhaled sadly, but nodded, understanding. She looked at Tifa, taking her hand.

"Look out for her, okay?" Tifa smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Mrs Gainsborough. I promise." Elmyra smiled warmly and stroked her cheek. She shot a glance at Cid and left, passing Cloud as he and Reno came in.

Cid walked over and took it from there. Cloud, Tifa and Zack followed him as he led Reno into the room.

Aerith looked up at them as they came in, but stayed calm. Reno took a seat in front of her, staring at her with nervous eyes.

There was a long moment of silence, until Cid took a step forward.

"Aerith," he said softly. She turned her head slightly to look at him. He smiled. "Do you know who this man is?"

Aerith closed her eyes and shook her head.

"No." Reno continued to stare at her. Cid chuckled lightly.

"This is Reno," he said, his voice still staying gently. The ducklings exchanged a look. Aerith looked up at the young man in front of her. Cid continued to smile as he leaned in closer to her.

"He's the witness who saw you run out of the hotel." Aerith's blood froze at the revelation on why she was there. She looked up at Cid.

"He saw _me _running?" she said hoarsely. Cid nodded, turning to Reno.

"You saw this girl, right?" he said. Reno didn't take his eyes off Aerith. "Is this her?" Reno stayed silent for a moment, but slowly nodded. Aerith's eyes widened.

"No…" she whispered, shaking her head. "No…I swear, I've never seen you before!"

Reno just kept staring. Cid watched him.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a loud voice. Reno nodded again.

"You've got those green eyes," he muttered. "And I never forget a face." Aerith shook her head hard.

"No! I've never seen you before!" She covered her face with her hands. Tifa rushed to her side.

"Shh…" Tifa said softly, wrapping her arms around her. "It's okay. C'mon, I'll take you home…" Cid pushed Tifa off, much to her surprise.

"Cid?" she began. He held out his hand for Aerith to take. He smiled at her.

"It's okay now," he said. "That was all I needed." Aerith's face didn't light up in anyway at his words. She placed her hand in his palm and he pulled her to her feet, but did not let go. Aerith frowned.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Cid frowned, examining her hand closely.

_Something was wrong._

Cid quickly snapped out of it, grinning.

Nothing," he said. He stepped aside so she could go to the door, Tifa following her. She gave Cid a strange look and went out, closing the door behind her.

"Boss," Zack said, facing him. "What is it?" Cid pushed Cloud and Zack out.

"I'll tell you later about it," he muttered under his breath. Zack looked over at Reno still sitting quietly at the table.

"Got it, boss," Zack said. He grabbed Cloud's arm and dragged him with him. "C'mon, Probie." Cloud shot Cid a glance, but followed. Cid closed the door. He looked back at Reno, who hadn't moved.

"Something wrong?" Reno closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind.

"That girl…" he muttered. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to think. "I don't know, but there was something about her… something that didn't feel right…" Cid went over to him, curious.

"What do you mean?" Reno emitted an exhausted sigh.

"There's just something…" he said. He looked at Cid. "I'm sorry, I don't make any sense…" Cid shook his head. He held out his hand to him.

"No, it's fine," he said as Reno shook it. "That was all we need from you." Reno nodded. Cid opened the door for him and he walked out. Cid closed it once again, holding onto the handle. He slowly let go, staring at his hand.

* * *

Vincent sat at the bar window, staring at the full moon outside, sipping his beer thoughtlessly. He heard approaching footsteps and turned his head to see Cid. He watched as his old friend sat himself in the opposite chair and helped himself to a beer. He sighed contently and leaned back on his chair, staring through the window. Vincent continued to watch for a long moment.

"So you let the girl go home?" he said finally. Cid nodded, not looking at him. "And the director agreed on your decision?" Cid choked on his beer.

"…you could say that…" Vincent uttered a soft chuckle and sipped his drink.

"You think she's really telling the truth, don't you Cid?" he said. Cid still didn't look over at him, but sighed.

"Something's just a little off about this case," he mumbled. "But I can't put my finger on it yet…" He glanced at Vincent. "Some things don't add up." Vincent raised an eyebrow, slightly interested. Cid stared down at his hand.

"You said there were traces of her blood on the murder weapon, right?"

Vincent nodded. Cid tightened his hand into a fist, frowning slightly.

"And you're absolutely sure it's her DNA?"

"Yuffie did the tests over twice, and we're certain." Cid lifted his gaze back at the starry night sky outside.

"Then it doesn't make any sense…"

"What doesn't?" Cid looked over at him, raising his hand.

"There are no traces of any injuries on her hands." Vincent frowned.

"What?"

"Her hands… they're flawless. No cuts, no bruises." Vincent set down his bottle and stared at it.

"The blood might not have necessarily been from her hands," he muttered. His eyes drifted up to Cid. He took a plastic bag with a photograph inside out of his pocket, placing it on the table in front of Cid. "And even if it did, it might have healed already." Cid picked up the photograph.

It was a picture of Aerith.

"That was found in Kadaj's pocket," Vincent said. "It looked like they planned to meet up with him for something." He sipped his beer. "Have you found Sephiroth yet?" Cid nodded, examining the picture.

"Cloud's got an address. We'll get him tomorrow morning." He frowned. "It still doesn't make sense. I mean, why would there be blood on the handle if her hand wasn't bleeding?" Vincent sighed.

"You believe what she told you, don't you?" Cid placed the photo facedown on the table.

"Why would someone lie about something like this when all the evidence points to them, anyway?" he asked. "What would they have to gain?" Vincent sat back.

"You believe her," he said, sipping his drink. Cid rubbed his forehead roughly.

"She really doesn't seem to know what happened at all. She doesn't seem like the munipulative kind."

"That's what you said about your third wife…" Vincent remarked. Cid let out a scoff.

"I'm serious, Vince." Vincent glanced at him.

"You think she might have some kind of psychological disorder? A split personality?" Cid closed his eyes.

"That's one of the reasons I don't want to send her to jail yet. I just wanna see what might happen." Vincent shook his head, sighing.

"You can't defend this girl just because of your gut feeling," he told him. "Not in this case, not when everything else points to her. " Cid shrugged, leaning back. He exhaled deeply, truly exhausted.

"I just don't know…"

* * *

Green eyes scanned through the newspaper article, worry lines creasing on her smooth forehead. The people around the bar were staring at her, but she didn't notice. She was completely absorbed into the article.

_Teenager Murdered In Hotel_

_The body of a teenager boy was found on the floor in the Midgar Hotel late last Tuesday night. The police have concluded that the murderer has been identified through DNA samples found at the crime scene, a video footage and an eye witness._

The green eyes came across the picture that looked exactly like herself.

_Aerith Gainsborough, a nurse at Midgar Children's Hospital was arrested and is free on bail. Her history with the young boy, a member of an elite Mafia gang, is unknown, but she has had contact before with the gang leader, Sephiroth._

Anger pumped through her veins as she torn her eyes away from the article.

"Those stupid cops…" she muttered through her clenched teeth. The people in the bar around her stared at her, a little afraid. She ignored them, folding up the paper neatly. Her cell phone began to ring. She opened it and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?" A rough female voice with a strong New York accent came.

"Evenin', sweetheart." She rolled her eyes, recognizing the voice.

"Hello Scarlett," she muttered dully.

"Read this week's paper, yet?"

"Yes, I have." She paused for a moment, sighing. "And is Sephiroth still going to see me or what?" The woman on the other line cackled.

"After what you did? I doubt it." She sighed again, a smile crawling onto her lips.

"Not even to find out what Kadaj died for?" The line fell silent.

"Tomorrow mornin', behind the hotel," Scarlett said. "Wait for me at the restaurant near 143 Maple Street." She picked up a pen withh her left hand and jotted down the address quickly.

"Okay."

"But wait… you'd be in jail or close supervision by then, wouldn't cha?" Scarlet was mocking her, but she still smiled.

"Oh, don't worry," she said in the same silky voice as Scarlet. "I'll be there. Alone." At that, she hung up. She glanced down at the paper again, sighing sadly.

"You have to do what you have to do," she muttered to herself. She took out the file from her pocket, staring at it. "And I have to bring that bastard to justice." She put it away, zipping it securely in her jacket.

"No matter what I have to do, I _will_ finish what I came to do."


	5. SHM Mafia

Aerith was tidying up the house. She vacuumed the dusty floor thoroughly, even though her thoughts were a thousand miles away.

She felt some kind of presence that had followed her around, and it scared her.

She had been feeling it since the very night Kadaj was killed. It was so distracting, Aerith couldn't shake it off.

The doorbell rang loudly through the noise, and Aerith turned off the vacuum cleaner. She dusted her hands together and walked over to the door. She opened it to reveal Elmyra. Aerith blinked.

"Mom?" she muttered. "What are you doing her?" Elmyra smiled warmly.

"I was getting worried about you, dear," she replied, stepping into the house. Aerith closed the door.

"About those agents?" she asked. Elmyra closed her eyes, nodding. Aerith emitted a deep sigh.

"Well, Special Agent Highwind asked bail for me from the director," she said. "I'm sure he'll try and work this out." Elmyra turned to look at her.

"Special Agent Highwind?" Aerith nodded. Elmyra managed a small smile.

"Mom, don't worry about me," Aerith said. "I'm innocent, and it's only justice that it's the truth." She felt the strange presence again, turning her head to the window's direction. Elmyra didn't notice.

"I know you didn't kill that man," Elmyra said firmly. "And I can see it in that agent's eyes; he knows it too." Aerith beamed at her.

Suddenly, Aerith's cell phone went off. She took it out of her pocket and opened it, reading the SMS.

Her blood froze.

"Oh no…" she muttered. Elmyra frowned.

"What is it?" she asked. Aerith snapped out of it and plastered on a smile, putting the phone away quickly.

"Oh, nothing," she said lightly. "There's just a little emergency at the hospital." She picked up her jacket. "Sorry, Mom. I have to go now." Elmyra nodded.

"Alright, but be careful." Aerith nodded. She planted a soft kiss on Elmyra's cheek and walked over to the door. Before reaching for the handle, she looked back at Elmyra, who had turned away.

Her smile faded instantly and she went outside. She looked back down at the phone, at the message, a grim look creeping onto her face.

Aerith looked around the neighbourhood to make sure no one was looking, and instead of going west towards the hospital, she turned and ran back into downtown Midgar.

* * *

Cloud sat at his desk examining through some paperwork on the case. It was all the information they had on Sephiroth, Aerith and the Cetra case in '98. He frowned, the ghastly detail on the murders making him slightly uneasy.

"You've been going through that paper for 2 hours, Probie," Zack said, watching him from across the room. Cloud snapped out of it, looking up at him.

"What?" Zack smiled.

"I said you keep looking at those papers," he said again politely. Cloud glanced back at the files and sighed wearily.

"Aerith does seem to have the perfect motivation for wanting to kill Sephiroth," he muttered, putting them away. He sighed again and leaned back on his chair, exhausted. Zack watched, amused.

"I must say, Probie," he commented. "I have never seen you this much into a case before."

"What do you mean?" he asked. Zack laughed.

"It's as if no matter what the evidence is, you wanna prove the girl's innocent." Cloud looked away and merely shrugged. Zack laughed again. He glanced at his watch.

"Hey, I wonder where Tifa is." He leaned back on his chair. "I kinda feel more sorry for her than you. Her best friend, you know. I wouldn't be surprised if she's taking herself off this case, before she cracks." Cloud sat up a little, looking at his friend.

"You've seen Tifa crack?" he said, intrigued. Zack smiled and nodded.

"Not matter how hot Tifa is, she's nothing if I'm not there to protect her." Cloud rolled his eyes. Zack sat up, striking a sentimental pose. "Enough if I could have had the world, the world is not enough without my beautiful, sane Tifa." Cloud shook his head, trying hard not to laugh.

"At least I know what you did last night," he said, flicking through the paperwork again. He noticed Zack had one particular file left on his desk. "Uh…didn't Tifa tell you to file those a week ago when she was sick?" Zack glanced down at it. He shrugged.

"What's the hurry?" he said lightly, leaning back again. "It's just to change her birth date. Besides, she's not going to turn up anytime soon today anyway."

Zack felt a hand slap the back of his head, making him sit up abruptly. Cloud started laughing as Tifa marched toward her desk, sitting down. Zack grinned at her.

"You came…" he said dramatically. Tifa didn't look at him.

"Of course I did, you idiot," she said curtly. "I'm not gonna have Cid riding me again for staying home."

"Even though you were about to break…" Tifa picked up her papers, glaring at him.

"Look, if you're talking about me cracking over this case--"

"This is a good sign…"

"--then you're dumber than you look!"

"So…"

"What?"

"Why did you come?"

"I told you. Cid's going to kill me if I keep staying home--"

"By who?"

"Damn it, Zack!" Tifa exclaimed, irritated beyond belief. She shot up from her chair, looking like she wanted to strangle Zack. Cloud bit his lip to stop himself from smiling. "What the hell are you on?!"

"Relax, Tifa," Cloud said. "He just got a copy of Advent Children." Tifa rolled her eyes and sat back down.

"I thought you'd get tired of that movie already, Zack," she said, not looking at him. Zack laughed.

"Who can get tired staring all day at that hot black-haired chick with the huge bust?" He sighed and laid back leisurely, picturing her. "Nice." Tifa scoffed.

"Ugh… men…" she muttered under her breath, flicking through her papers ago. Zack watched her.

"What? I thought you liked that movie," he said, glancing at Cloud. "I thought you'd be totally in love with the blonde guy." Tifa still didn't look at him.

"Not my type," she said simply. "Too emo." Zack smiled again, looking at Cloud.

"What about you, Probie? The black-haired chick was hot, yeah?" Cloud shrugged.

"I didn't really like her that much," he said. "I liked the girl at the end. The one with the green eyes." Tifa glanced over at him.

"Thank you for not being a bag of raging hormones, Cloud," she said, shooting a glance at Zack. "Unlike some people…" Zack sat up, offended.

"So have you know," he said. "I'm actually looking for a real girlfriend." Tifa exchanged an amused look with Cloud. They both started laughing, annoying Zack.

Zack felt another slap on the back of his head as Cid came in.

"Enough about your sex life, Fair," he said, heading to his desk and taking out his gun. "I'm sure we've heard enough of it already." Tifa and Cloud tried hard to stop laughing. Zack blushed a little. He cleared his throat and stood up from his chair.

"What's happening now, boss?" he asked with a serious tone, taking out his own gun.

"We're gonna pay Sephiroth a visit," Cid replied. "That's what."

"Are we going to bring him in?" Cloud asked. Cid shook his head.

"He hasn't really done anything yet, has he, Strife?" He stared at Cloud, making him a little uncomfortable.

"No he hasn't," he said quickly. "Sorry, boss." Cid brushed past the ducklings and went first out the door. Tifa followed first. Zack slapped the back of Cloud's head and gave him a I-can't-believe-you're-that-stupid look before leaving.

Cloud shot him an annoyed look, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. He slipped on his NCIS cap, and ran after them.

* * *

The alleyway was a little dark in downtown Midgar. It was where mobsters usually hung out, where they'd make deals and money.

The ducklings were on their toes as they cautiously made their way through the alley, Cid leading them.

"This place gives me the creeps," Tifa muttered. Zack smirked.

"You obviously haven't been to Vegas yet," he joked. Cloud was behind him, also looking around cautiously.

"I don't even think Vegas would have this weird vibe to it," he said. Tifa glanced at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Cloud lifted up the front of his cap to look at her.

"Do you get the feeling… that people have been killed here?" he said nervously. Tifa stared at him for a long moment, then quickly looked around.

"Trust me, Cloud," she said. "You don't want to know what _really_ happens around here." Cloud frowned.

"What?" he asked. "What happens around here?" Zack chuckled loudly.

"You're too young, Probie," he said, pushing Cloud's cap down over his eyes.

Cid suddenly stopped in his tracks, pointing his gun ahead. Tifa and Zack readied themselves, protecting Cloud between them. Cid frowned.

"I'm Special Agent Cid Highwind," he said loudly. "NCIS." There was a thump. "Come out with your hands up!" Cloud pulled up his cap, a confused look on his face, but he quickly followed suit and pointed his gun at the direction.

Very slowly, three silvered haired men stepped out with their hands up.

The eldest seemed to be in his mid-30s, with green eyes and a disturbingly calm smile. The ducklings knew who it was immediately.

"Sephiroth," Cid said. Sephiroth just smiled.

The other two men were reasonably younger than him, perhaps in their early-20s. The older one seemed to have a look of pure hatred in his eyes as he stared at the ducklings, while the other was the same yet not as much.

"Special Agent Highwind," Sephiroth said silkily. He and Cid shared a look for a split second. Cid slowly lowered his gun as Sephiroth did with his hands. The others followed.

"I guess you know why I'm here," Cid said, looking at him and the other men. Sephiroth continued to smile.

"Yes," he said. He glanced at the other two men over his shoulder. "I don't think I've introduced my crew." He smiled. "This is Yazoo and Loz," he said, pointing. Loz continued to glare at the team, while Yazoo merely nodded.

"Please," Sephiroth continued. "Come inside." He motioned them to follow him into a nearby door.

The ducklings exchanged worried looks, but followed as Cid went ahead.

Yazoo closed the door behind them as Sephiroth took a seat at his desk.

The office was quite big and fancy. No doubt a lot of money had been put into it. Sephiroth shuffled his work aside and cleared his throat, leaning forward on the table.

"I'm guessing you're here to talk about Aerith Gainsborough," he said, as Cid stepped in front of his desk.

"She's been released on bail," he said. "And we need to know why she's involved in this."

"Why she's involved?" Loz erupted angrily. He tried to have a go at Cid, only to be held back by Yazoo. "He killed our brother! How can you let that psycho walk out like that!"

Tifa was a little taken aback by his words.

"Your brother?" she breathed. Yazoo glared at her.

"Our brother," he said curtly. "You have all the proof you need to lock her up forever, but you let her out." Cid stepped in front.

"We want to know what happened exactly in the Cetra case." He looked back at Sephiroth. "We want to know what exactly happened to make Aerith Gainsborough want to kill you." Sephiroth let out a laugh, standing up.

"I was found innocent, that's what." He took out a file from a drawer. "And if you want to dig up old bones, go ahead. Everything that says I was innocent is in that file." Cid stared at the file for a second before taking it. He flipped through it silently.

"On the video footage at the hotel," he muttered. "Aerith Gainsborough was seen holding a file in her hands, and I presume that was what Kadaj risked his life to get." He stopped and lifted his gaze back at Sephiroth. He smiled. "Just throwing this out there, but do you think maybe that file would have something to do with you?"

Sephiroth's smile faded slightly, amusing Cid. He turned around to the ducklings.

"We've got everything we need from him," he told them. He handed Zack the file. "Move out." The ducklings nodded and obeyed. Cid stayed behind and turned back to face Sephiroth. Cid smiled again.

"I really wonder what was in that file," he said. "Don't you?" Sephiroth didn't smile back. Satisfied with his work, Cid gave Loz and Yazoo a nod and left.

Yazoo sealed the door as soon as Cid left.

Sephiroth sat back down, a grim look on his face. Loz walked over to him.

"Boss," he said. "Aerith Gainsborough was that girl who called and told you to meet up with her in that hotel, right?"

Sephiroth nodded.

"And she said there was something she wanted to discuss with you?" Sephiroth leaned back on his chair, his sly smile returning.

"If she has evidence against me for the Cetra case, and she's too stupid to give it in, we shouldn't worry about it too much." Loz nodded. Sephiroth tightened his hand into a fist.

"We'll just have to take it from her, then," he said lightly.

Loz looked around the room for a moment, frowning.

"Where's Scarlet?" he asked. Yazoo cast a dubious look, but Sephiroth smiled again.

"She's on the job already, of course." He leaned back even further.

"She'll take care of it."

* * *

Tifa let out a sad sigh as they made their way back to the van. Zack noticed.

"What's wrong, Tifa?" She looked down at the pavement.

"I know Aerith is innocent in this," she said, sighing again. "But those guys lost their brother…" Cloud placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a friendly smile.

"Don't think about it too much, Tifa," he said. "It's not your fault." She nodded, not looking at him. Cloud and Zack went into the van first.

Tifa sighed again, bringing her gaze up. She frowned as something caught her eye in the far distance.

Or someone.

Her back was turned, but she had long chestnut-brown hair that fell to her waist. She seemed to be waiting for someone outside the restaurant near the hotel. Tifa watched as the young woman pulled a black ribbon from her pocket and tied up her hair.

Tifa blinked a couple of times, but when she looked back, the woman was gone.

"Tifa," Cid called out from the front seat. "Get in the van already!" Tifa snapped out of it.

"Coming!" She leapt onto the seat next to Zack, but continued to stare out the window.

"You okay?" Zack asked, a concerned look on his face. Tifa looked back at him and nodded.

"Yeah," she said, grinning. "I just thought I saw something."

Cid started the engine and the van zoomed off back to headquarters. Tifa let out another sigh.

_Was that just a hallucination_, she thought to herself. _Or was that Aerith?_

* * *

The green eyes constantly scanned the area over and over again for a certain someone. She sighed and glanced at her watch, frustrated.

It had been 30 minutes.

She glanced at the file that was zipped safely in her jacket, emitting another sigh. She sat down at the nearby table and stared at the tablecloth. The waiter came up to her.

"Would you like anything, ma'am?" he asked. She smiled politely and shook her head.

"It's alright," she said. "I'm just waiting for someone." The waiter nodded and walked away.

A blonde woman walked up to her from behind, a curious smirk on her face.

"Miss Gainsborough?"

No answer. The blonde woman scoffed and walked past her chair, holding a newspaper.

Out of nowhere, a newspaper landed with a thump in front of her on the table. She stared wide-eyed at the front page.

**YOUNG KILLED IN DOWNTOWN MIDGAR**

The picture of Kadaj was printed under the heading, and she knew what that mean. She looked around wildly, just spotting Scarlet walking away into the alley. She jumped to her feet and darted after her, taking the paper with her.

"Scarlet!" she called out. The blonde woman stopped and turned around to her, a smirk on her face.

Scarlet examined her features for a long moment, looking at her from top to bottom.

"Ms G," she said. "Or should I say…" She glanced at the newspaper she was holding. "Miss Gainsborough." She didn't respond, instead she glared coldly at Scarlet.

"So you showed up after all," she said bluntly. "After half an hour." Scarlet cackled loudly.

"Sorry, sweetheart," she said. "I guess I lost track of time." Her eyes came across the file sticking out of her jacket. "Ooh, is that what you were talking about on the phone?"

She glanced down at her own jacket, nodding.

"You want it?" she asked. Scarlet just smiled. She went towards her and reached for the file, but her hand was caught abruptly. "I'm not letting anyone touch this until I see Sephiroth."

Scarlet smiled again. She took a step back.

"Well, I see to it that you think otherwise…" Scarlet pulled out leather gloves and put them on, her icy smile not fading the slightest. She formed a fist with her hand and held it up to her.

"… Miss Gainsborough."


	6. Big Trouble

Scarlet laughed loudly as she stared at the young woman in front of her.

"So, Miss Gainsborough," she cackled. "Are you going to hand that file to me or what?"

The green eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I'm only going show this to you if you'll bring me to Sephiroth," she replied in a firm voice. Scarlet laughed again.

"And risk you killing him? Not a chance!" Scarlet stopped laughing, her face becoming serious. "Now…give me the file." She backed away abruptly, still glaring venomously at Scarlet.

"I don't want to hurt you," she muttered. Scarlet scoffed.

"Did you tell Kadaj that too?" Scarlet tutted and shook her head. She slowly walked towards her as the girl started to back away.

Scarlet smiled again.

Suddenly, she darted towards her and landed a hard punch on her stomach. Scarlett then grabbed her arm and threw her against the hard brick wall behind her, forcing her opponent's head to bang hard into the wall.

There was a spot of blood left behind on the wall as she slowly slid down onto the ground.

Scarlett watched her struggle to get up, her hairline bleeding and her breathing quickening. She clicked her tongue again.

"I don't know how you killed Kadaj," she muttered, walking up to the fallen girl. "But you seem to have lost it by now." Scarlet laughed again, pulling the file out of the jacket and stepping over her and slowly walked away.

Those wild green eyes opened again and struggled to stay open and focused. She scanned around for Scarlet, and spotted her. It was blurry and she was having double vision, but it was definitely Scarlet. Blinded by the commotion and rage, she launched herself and tackled Scarlet to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Scarlet exclaimed, trying to push her off. Blind rage swirled around in those eyes, as if she was in a trance. She reached for Scarlet's neck and started choking her.

She didn't care about anything else. She wanted to make her pay for what she had just done.

Scarlet immediately reached to her hands and tried to free herself, but the grip was becoming tighter and tighter. She couldn't breathe.

The file laid, forgotten, on the side as the two woman fought.

Scarlet pulled and pulled but she couldn't release herself. She tried to scream but she couldn't. She tried to overpower her attacker, but she couldn't. She spluttered and gasped, but she couldn't draw in any air at all.

Slowly, Scarlet's eyes rolled back and her body fell limp.

She shook the body slightly, just in case Scarlet was faking, but she still didn't move.

She was dead.

The green eyes calmed down a little as she removed her hands, revealing deep fingernail marks on Scarlet's throat. She backed away a little, but stayed calm. She didn't freak out like she did when she killed Kadaj, and she knew it would be the best thing to do.

She glanced at the file next to Scarlet. She picked it up and smiled at it, knowing this meant that she was still in the game. She looked back at Scarlet.

"I'm really sorry," she muttered hoarsely. "But I have to do this." She placed her fingers on Scarlet's eyelids and gently closed her dead eyes. Then, she started going through Scarlet's clothes, searching for anything that could help her with her mission.

A pistol, a few extra bullets, a wallet, and a cell phone. She smiled as she examined the phone, because sooner or later Sephiroth would have to call Scarlet to know what was happening. Scarlet was wearing a bullet-proof jacket, and that could come in handy.

She quickly changed clothes with the corpse, stripping her of everything of value.

"Thank you very much," she said happily. She stood up and put the gun in her pocket, rubbing the back of her head, fixing her black ribbon. "Ouch."

She shot Scarlet one last look, glanced around to see if anyone was watching, and ran away as fast as she could.

* * *

"Did you see that movie last night, Probie?" 

Cloud stiffened slightly as he tried to focus on his computer.

"No, Zack," he replied almost lazily. "I did not see that movie last night." Zack bit into a cookie as he went over to see what Cloud was doing.

"You should have seen it," he said, leaning over Cloud's head while munching his cookieto look at the screen, much to Cloud's annoyance. "Gladiator? 2000 Ridley Scott movie? Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Neilsen?" He leaned further onto Cloud's head, pushing him down. "No? Then what the heck were you doing all night?" Crumbs fell into Cloud's hair. He looked up at Zack, irritated.

"Um... Do you mind, Zack?" Zack grinned and shook his head.

"No, I don't mind." He got off Cloud and went back to his desk. Cloud shot him an annoyed look and dusted the crumbs off his head.

"I was doing some research," he said. He looked back at the monitor. Zack chuckled.

"That's all you ever, Cloud," he told him. "Work, work, work. You've gotta go out sometime, meet a nice girl, get laid." Cloud scoffed. Zack laughed again.

Tifa came downstairs with some files, letting out a gasp of surprise as she saw Zack. She marched over to her desk, where an empty cookie box laid.

"Zack!" she exclaimed. "I told you that you could have one!" Zack shrugged.

"They were good," he said innocently. He bit into the cookie.

"Oh!" Tifa groaned, slapping her forehead with her palm. "They were for my nephew's birthday! I was going to drop them off for him." She glared at Zack, obviously hurt. "How could you!"

Cloud bit his lip and stood up, slowly backing away from the two.

"I'll go and see how Yuffie's doing," he muttered quietly. "I'll just leave you two alone…"

"They were for your nephew?" Zack said, shocked. Tifa nodded.

"It's his 4th birthday!" she shouted. "I told you a million times!" She went back to her desk, tears in her eyes. Zack watched her, feeling a little bad, but he smiled. He popped the rest of the cookie into his mouth and went over to his desk. He bent down and picked up a box, going over to Tifa. She didn't look at him.

"I was going to give this to a friend of mine," Zack said, opening the box. "But I guess you'd deserve it more." Tifa looked up, an astonished smile creeping onto her face.

It was a huge chocolate cake.

"You'd give that to me?" she said, taking it. Zack grinned and nodded. He glanced at Cloud.

"It was Probie's idea," he said. "He knew I'd eat all your cookies, so he told me I should buy something extra for you." Cloud gave Tifa a thumbs-up. She beamed at both of them.

"That's really thoughtful," she said, looking at the cake. "And if I wasn't so horrifically offended, I'd thank you for it." Her smile disappeared and she gave Zack a punch in the shoulder. She took the cake and went towards the office kitchen.

Zack let out a weak laugh, rubbing his shoulder.

"I knew she'd like it," he said hoarsely. Cloud went over to him.

"Seriously, though," he said. "Did you really have to eat all her cookies? I thought you hated peanut butter." Zack held up his hand to silence him.

"It's all about planning, Probie," he whispered to his friend. "I keep doing this and I'll get her to clean my house." He snickered. Cloud rolled his eyes and smiled.

"And how many times did you do this already to her?" Zack shrugged.

"The master doesn't need to keep track. He waits until the prey is ready, and he just goes for it." Cloud sighed and patted Zack's shoulder, heading back to his desk.

"Well, I hope the master has $30, because that cake was not cheap." Zack laughed again, looking at his friend. His smile faded as someone came in from the front door.

It was Barret, and he looked worried.

"Barret?" Tifa said, frowning. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's Cid?" he asked. Just then, Cid came in from behind him, holding a cup of coffee.

"Right behind you." Barret turned around.

"Another dead body in Midgar was found," he told him. He looked at the ducklings. "We've got a crew down there already, but I think you guys better check it out." Zack, Cloud and Tifa nodded and started getting out their equipment.

Cid finished off his coffee and nodded.

* * *

Cameras clicked around the area wired with police ribbon. The crew climbed out of the van and looked around. 

Vincent was already there, standing over a blonde woman's body. Cid walked over to him as the ducklings followed. Vincent removed his gloves and sighed grimly.

"Strangled," he muttered. He pointed at the throat. "See the fingernail marks? I don't think she stood a chance." Cid sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"Who is she?" Vincent closed his eyes.

"Scarlet Davies," he said, standing up. "And she's part of the SHM Mafia as well."

Tifa let out a gasp, covering her mouth with her hands.

_Aerith was here a few hours ago._

Zack looked at her and frowned.

"What's wrong, Tifa?" he asked. Tifa turned to him and forced a smile.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "It's nothing." She brushed past him to go over to Vincent, who was standing at the brick wall. He was examining a red spot as Cid, Zack and Cloud watched from behind him.

"Was there a fight?" Cloud asked, snapping shots with his camera. Vincent nodded. He took out a cotton swab and took a sample of blood with it.

"See here," he said, holding up the swab. "The attacker must have hit their head on the wall." Tifa glanced at the body.

"You sure it wasn't hers?" she said. Vincent nodded.

"There aren't any injuries to the head," he said. "I'm certain." He shared a look with Cid, a look that said _you're in trouble_. He handed the swab to Tifa.

"You should give this to Yuffie to find out who it belongs to," he said. He stared at Cid. "Even though it probably won't be necessary." Tifa sighed and nodded. She went back, Zack and Cloud following.

"What is up with you, Tifa?" Zack demanded. "You're acting weird." Tifa ignored him.

"Let's just get this to Yuffie." Zack grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her to stand still. She didn't resist.

"What's wrong?" he said softly. Tifa exhaled wearily.

"Before we left," she said. "I think I saw Aerith here." Cloud's eyes widened slightly.

"What?" Tifa pushed Zack off her.

"I'm not sure, I only saw her from behind." She went back to the van. "It might not even be her."

"Did you tell the boss this?" Cloud asked. Tifa closed her eyes.

"Well, you'd have to, wouldn't you?" she replied curtly. She started the engine and drove off, leaving her two colleagues behind.

Barret walked over to Cid as Vincent began to pack up his equipment. He cleared his throat loudly.

"Cid," he said gruffly. Cid turned around. Barret sighed. "I think you know who might be responsible for this." Cid rubbed the back of his neck.

"I don't need a lecture, Barret," he grumbled. Barret shook his head.

"This is going to be more than a lecture, Cid, a lot more." He sighed. "The Director wants to speak to you." Cid looked up at him, mildly surprised. Barret sighed again.

"You're in big trouble this time."

* * *

Tifa stepped out of the elevator door, in one hand the DNA sample, in the other a huge cup of_Materi-AH!_, Yuffie's favourite drink. 

As she came closer to the door, rock music rang through out the corridor. Tifa smiled to herself; typical Yuffie.

She pushed open the door and immediately spotted Yuffie at her computer. She looked up and grinned as she saw Tifa, more or less, with the huge cup in her hand.

"Cool! You brought some _Materi-AH!_," she said happily, taking it off her. "Thank God, I was running dry here." She took a huge sip. Tifa held out the DNA sample to her.

"We need to find who this blood belongs to ASAP," she said. "Another member of Sephiroth's gang was found this morning." Yuffie lowered her drink, her smile disappearing.

"Oh, Tifa…" Tifa tried to smile.

"Yes, I think we all know who it belongs to but just test it for us,' she said quickly. "Please." Yuffie put the _Materi-AH!_ down and took the sample, immediately going to work.

She analyzed it through her computer. The two friends sat and waited anxiously for a result to show up as the files whizzed through, photo after photo. Suddenly after an hour or so, and the image of the person appeared on the plasma, and it was as Tifa feared.

It was Aerith.

Yuffie looked up from her screen and stared sadly at Tifa, who was shaking her head.

"No…" she muttered. "This isn't right…"

"I'm sorry, Tifa," Yuffie said, handing her the report. Tifa smiled softly at her.

"It's okay."

* * *

Cid straightened up his jacket as he walked up the stairs towards the Director's office. He stopped at the door and smirked to himself before opening it. He peeked in. 

"You asked to see me, Director?" He stepped inside and closed the door.

The Director's back was faced to him, looking out the window. Cid grinned again, sitting down at the nearby chair. The Director turned around to him.

"You wanted to see me..." Cid said again, smiling. "... Shera?"

Shera let out a scoff and went over to the Director's desk. She sat down as Cid walked over to her.

"You're in big trouble, Agent Highwind," she said, clearing her desk. "And that means I'm in big trouble too."

Cid nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Barret told me." He smirked again. Shera glared at him.

"Will you be serious?!" she said hotly. "The tests have come back from the labs and one of your agents said so herself that she saw the suspect in that area! You make me talk the judge into arranging bail for this girl, and she just goes out and kills someone else!" She shook her head. "Do you realize how bad this has become?" Cid sighed and nodded grimly. Shera slammed her hand down on the desk.

"Why do I even put up with you, Cid?" she asked. Cid looked back at her, and gave her a sweet smile.

"I don't know, Shera," he said. Shera stood up and went over to the window. Cid came up behind her.

"You always trust your gut," she muttered. "I know you." Cid smiled and leaned in closer.

"And you trust me?" he said in her ear. Shera sighed and turned around. She jolted back a little at how close Cid was standing.

"You know I'll always trust you, Cid," she whispered. She tried hard to stay still. Cid smiled again.

"Can you sort this out?" he asked softly. Shera swallowed and nodded.

"It won't be easy, but I'll think of something." She stared at him. "But it doesn't mean you get off that easily." Cid laughed.

"That's what you said when we went undercover in Paris." He smirked smugly. "And I got away with that, didn't I?" Shera felt uncomfortable thinking about it.

"That was a long time ago," she said. "This is different." She pushed him away and went back to her desk. Cid smiled and turned around to her. Shera shuffled through her files.

"And it's getting out of hand this time," she said. "I might lose my job for listening to you." Cid smiled.

"Maybe it'll be better that way," he said. "You could go back to being a field agent again." Shera glared at him.

"I was good at being an agent," she snapped. "And that's why I was promoted."

"That wasn't the only thing you were good at," Cid said smugly, looking at her from top to bottom. Shera looked away.

"Cid, please…" He sighed.

"Okay," he said softly. "I'm sorry." He cleared his throat and straightened up. "I'll get one of my people to bring her in." He winked at her. "Don't worry, the big guys love you. They'll let this one slide." He bowed his head slightly to her. "Madam Director." He smiled one last time and left the room.

Shera leaned forward onto her desk and sighed deeply.

"Special Agent Highwind."

* * *

**Some tension between Cid and Shera? If you've watched NCIS, you'll see what I mean. Shera is _Director Jenny Shepherd_, former flame, former partner and boss to Agent Gibbs. :) Yes, _Materi-AH!_ is my lame invention for Abby's favourite drink that she always has.**

**Okay, so there's another person dead. What will happen to Aerith now? Will Cid and the ducklings still try and save her, or is it too late? **

**Keep reading and you'll like it.**


	7. Suspicion

Cloud knocked on the door as he and Tifa waited anxiously.

They were outside Aerith's house, and their orders were to bring her in. Strangely, Cid's orders included that they didn't tell Aerith why they were bringing her in until after she was at headquarters. Tifa and Cloud knew that was the best way without a huge struggle.

Cloud stared at the house.

"Does she live here all by herself?" he asked. Tifa nodded.

"Elmyra comes around now and then," she said. "But Aerith lives here alone." Cloud knocked the door again, then heard footsteps approaching. The door opened.

It was Elmyra.

"Yes?" she said, looking at them. Tifa pushed Cloud aside and smiled at her.

"Hi, Mrs Gainsborough," she said. "Um…we need to have a private word with Aerith, please. It's very important." Elmyra shook her head.

"She went to work hours ago," she told them. "That was the last time I saw her today." Tifa's smile faded a little, but she stayed calm.

"Really…" she said. "So…she went to the hospital?" Elmyra nodded.

"That's what she told me." She glanced at Cloud. "Is something wrong?" Cloud sighed heavily, but smiled.

"There's just something we need to discuss with her." He exchanged a look at Tifa, then looked back at Elmyra. "Uh…we'll go see her at the hospital. Thank you." Elmyra smiled and nodded. She closed the door.

Tifa and Cloud started heading back to the car.

"This is getting really bad," Tifa muttered. "If she wasn't home when the murder happened, then…" Cloud placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Elmyra said she's at the hospital, working." He sighed. "As long as that's true, she'll still have a good alibi." Tifa shut her eyes.

"But it doesn't mean her name is cleared! She could have killed Scarlet when she came downtown this morning…"

"You said so yourself you only saw her from behind. You weren't even sure it was her." Tifa stopped and turned to face Cloud.

"And the odds of that?" she said. "Let's be realistic, kid." Cloud sighed heavily and dropped his gaze. He took out his cell phone and dialed the numbers slowly. He lifted his gaze to Tifa as he pressed the phone to his ear.

"Then why is Cid still trying to help her?" he said quietly. Tifa stared at him, the thought only just hitting her.

_He was right._

"Hey, boss," Cloud said, jumping into the passenger's seat in the car. "Yeah, we're at Aerith's house, and she's not there. Her mom says she's been at work all day." Tifa hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine. "Yeah, already on our way, boss."

* * *

Cid slammed down the phone hard, making Zack beside him wince. Cid marched past him, shooting him a venomous glare. 

"What the hell are you still doing here?!" Zack straightened up.

"I… uh… You didn't give me anything to do, boss…" Cid rolled his eyes. He went to Tifa's desk and scooped up an armload of files, thrusting it into Zack's arms abruptly. Zack stumbled back, very surprised.

"Now you do!" Cid said, dusting his hands. He slapped the back of Zack's head and went off. Zack groaned and rubbed his head.

"Yeah… thanks, boss…"

* * *

Tifa opened the door to the children's ward in Midgar Hospital and stepped inside, Cloud following behind her. She looked around. 

Children were happily running around, even those with a cast or bandages. She smiled at them.

"Hey, Cloud," she said, looking at him. "Why don't you bring Aerith in? I'll go around and ask if anyone's been here with her all day." Cloud cocked an eyebrow.

"Really? Why?" Tifa smiled weakly.

"Well, I don't want to do it," she muttered. She beamed at him. "And I think you kinda have a thing for her." Cloud blushed.

"What…? No I don't!" Tifa just laughed. She patted him on the back and went over to the front desk where a young woman was sitting.

Cloud took a deep breath and adjusted his cap. He headed towards the door that all the children were coming from. He peeked in.

Aerith was sitting on the ground, holding a guitar and singing as several children sat in a circle, listening to her. She beamed at the girl closest to her, who was hugging a big teddy bear. Cloud sighed again and stepped into the room.

"Miss Gainsborough…" he said. Aerith looked up at him and smiled. She stood up.

"Agent Strife," she said. The children ran over to him, happy to see him.

"Yay! Someone else to play with us!" they cried happily. Cloud grinned nervously. He went over to Aerith.

"I'm sorry," he muttered into her ear. "But my boss needs to see you." Aerith frowned.

"Why?" She took off her nurse's cap and fixed up the pink ribbon. Cloud shook his head.

"He just needs to have a word with you about something important."

"Now?" Cloud nodded. Aerith stared at him, hurt. She looked back at the children, and sighed. "Just give us ten minutes."

"Miss Gainsborough, I have to follow my orders." Aerith glared at him.

"Ten minutes is too much to ask?" she exclaimed. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the children. "See that little girl?" She pointed at the one holding the teddy bear. "That's Jenny. She has a tumor on her heart. I got a call that she's going to have her operation today, and she has a 60 percent change of making it." She looked back at Cloud. "I've seen them come and go, Agent Strife, but I love that little girl. I went all the way downtown today just to buy her that bear for good luck." Cloud's eyes widened slightly. Aerith looked down at her guitar. "Please, just ten minutes. I'll sing her favourite song before I go." Her eyes saddened. "She only has three hours until the operation, and 60 percent to me isn't enough to tell me that I'm certain I'll see her little face again. Okay?"

Cloud swallowed bitterly, glancing back at the little girl. She was laughing with her friends, hugging the bear tightly. He felt sorry for her, and Aerith. Slowly, he nodded. Aerith sighed.

"Thanks," she muttered. She turned back to the children and put on a happy face. She sat down next to Jenny.

"Does anyone feel like a song?" she asked loudly. The children cheered. "How about Jenny's favourite song, huh? We all love Jenny's song!" Cloud couldn't help but smile.

Aerith began playing a fun tune on the guitar, all the kids swaying happily.

#_Fly by Frankie thinks he's superman  
Like a child at the wheel of a rocket  
He comes round here with a license to love  
But I don't know where he got it  
I trusted you offered everything  
But I'm not sure you deserve it #_

She and Jenny sang together, looking over at Denzel and making cute faces.

_#You tell me that I'm lucky  
But I feel like giving up  
cause a heart like mines wasted on you  
If you don't know what you've got #_

"Everyone now!" Aerith called out.

_#You throw it away  
Throw it away  
All the heart and the soul I've been giving  
You throw it away  
Throw it away  
Like its no big deal you'll be missin  
You throw it away  
Throw it away  
Run it underground #_

The girls all laughed, clearing enjoying themselves. Aerith laid her head down on Jenny's lap, rubbing it against her belly and earning a few giggles.

_# Fly by frankies got it in his head  
That he's something I know that he's not  
He's like a blind bull in a china shop  
When it comes to affairs of the heart  
You wouldn't know what love is  
If it hit you like a rock  
And a girl like me is lost on you  
If you don't see what you've got  
You throw it away  
_

_ Throw it away  
All the heart and the soul I've been giving  
You throw it away  
Throw it away  
Like its no big deal you'll be missin  
You throw it away  
Throw it away  
Run it underground #_

Cloud smiled as he watched, unable to help it. Seeing this side of Aerith, he wouldn't believe her to be a serial killer at all. His smiled faded.

_# Every breath in the park  
Every dance in the dark  
Every promise you make  
You go and throw it away  
Every smile in the rain  
You know its always the same  
You go and do it again  
You go and throw it away  
You wouldn't know what love is  
If it hit you like a rock  
And a girl like me is lost on you  
If you don't see what you've got_

_You throw it away  
Throw it away  
All the heart and the soul I've been giving  
You throw it away  
Throw it away  
Like its no big deal you'll be missin  
You throw it away  
Throw it away  
Run it underground #_

All the children cheered and clapped, Aerith smiling shyly and bowing. She looked at Cloud, her smile disappearing a little. She put her guitar down and hugged Jenny tightly, as if not wanting to let go.

"Good luck for today, sweetheart," she said, planting kisses all over her. She pulled away, tears in her eyes. "Remember what I told you, okay?" Jenny nodded, beaming.

"Always remember to think happy thoughts." Aerith smiled tearfully and hugged her again. She stood up and looked over at Cloud. She nodded, reassuring him that she was done.

Tifa came in, holding an open notepad. She whispered a few things to Cloud, handing it to him. She smiled at Aerith.

"Come on, sweetie," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm here for you." Aerith took it, looking back at the kids. A tear fell from her eye.

"Be good for me, okay?" The children all nodded. They ran to her and all gave her a big hug. "I love you guys so much..." Tifa sighed and started pushing Aerith out.

Something definitely didn't feel right.

* * *

The picture of Scarlet's body was placed in front of Aerith in the interrogation room. She let out a gasp. 

"Oh god," she muttered, horrified. "Scarlet's… dead?" Cid exhaled deeply.

"Your blood was found in the crime scene," he said. He glanced at Tifa through the two-way mirror. "And Tifa saw you there." Aerith looked at him, shocked.

"She…saw me kill her?"

"Not exactly," he replied. "She said she saw you in the area a few hours before the murder." Aerith glanced at the mirror.

"Well…did she see my face?"

"She said she saw you from behind. With a black ribbon." Aerith shot up from her chair.

"Again with the black ribbon?! I told you I don't wear black ribbons!" She went over to the mirror. "How could you say that, Tifa?!" Tifa looked away from behind it.

"Sit down, Miss Gainsborough," Cid said calmly. He sighed, standing up. "I'm afraid this time I really have no choice but to arrest you." He took out his handcuffs and put them on her. He frowned.

"What?" Aerith said, feeling uncomfortable at his gaze. Cid continued to stare at her, something not making sense. But then he snapped out of it. He signaled through the two-way mirror.

"Strife," he said. "Get in here." Cloud jumped up and ran into the room. "Please take Miss Gainsborough to her cell." Cloud sighed sadly and obeyed. Before he left, Cid slapped the back of his head with his hand. Cloud looked at him, even more confused.

"What was that for?" he asked. Cid then slapped the back of Aerith's head. She reacted the same way as Cloud. Cid stared at his hand for a long moment.

Tifa opened the door and stood to the side, clearing her throat loudly. Cloud looked over at her, nodding. He gently led Aerith out.

"I want to call my mother first," Aerith demanded. "She needs to know about this." Cid nodded slightly, not looking at her. As Cloud walked her away, Tifa looked back at Cid, Zack coming up behind her. They watched their boss.

"Something wrong, boss?" Zack asked. Cid continued to stare at his hand, but then shook his head.

"It's nothing," he said, brushing past them out the door. Zack gave Tifa a weird look. She just shrugged.

* * *

"One call," Cloud said, uncuffing her. He sighed sadly. "I'm sorry about this." Aerith just smiled. 

"It's okay," she told him. "I know you're just doing your job." She reached for the phone before looking at him. "Do you mind?" Cloud blinked.

"Huh? Oh!" He backed away. "Sorry." Aerith smiled again. She took a coin out of her pocket and put it into the machine. She checked that Cloud wasn't listening, her smile vanishing.

She pressed the phone to her ear and dialed.

* * *

The phone rang loudly. Yazoo looked at it. 

"Do you think that might be Scarlet?" he asked Loz beside him. He shrugged. Sephiroth motioned him to go pick it up, and he obeyed.

Slowly, he pressed the phone to his ear as Sephiroth and Loz looked on anxiously.

"Scarlet? Is that you?" A female voice came, but obviously not Scarlet's.

"Yazoo, right?" He frowned.

"Who is this?" The woman laughed softly.

"I'm hurt. You don't remember my voice?" Yazoo's breath was caught in his throat as he realized.

"You bitch…" She laughed again.

"Now, now. Be nice." Yazoo took a deep breath. He looked at Sephiroth.

"What do you want, Miss Gainsborough? How did you get this number?"

"From my good friend Scarlet, of course." She laughed. "Oh, she's dead, just to let you know." Yazoo's blood froze.

"Scarlet's…dead?" Sephiroth and Loz sat up, mortified.

"Yes, she is. And I'll say this again and I'm hoping for the last time that I want to meet up with your boss, not another one of his goons." Yazoo laughed wryly.

"But wait, aren't you in jail now? How the hell are you supposed to meet up with us if you're in jail?" She laughed again.

"Don't worry, just meet me outside the jail at 11pm tonight… Sephiroth. "

"Wait! I asked you how you'd meet us if you've been arrested?!"

"Don't worry about a thing. I've got it all planned out. I'll definitely be there tonight." At that, she hung up. Yazoo sighed and put down the phone, glancing at Sephiroth.

"I'll go for you, boss," he said. "This woman's really dangerous." Sephiroth nodded grimly. He threw Yazoo a gun.

"Not exactly how I remember Miss Gainsborough to be," he muttered. He leaned back and smiled mildly at Yazoo.

"Forget the agreement. As soon as you see her there, if she's there, shoot her on sight and get whatever the thing she has to see me about." Yazoo nodded, pocketing the gun.

"On it, boss."

* * *

Aerith emitted a weary sigh and hung up the phone. Cloud came back into view; the expression on his face telling her he had not overheard anything. She smiled at him. 

"Okay, Agent Strife," she said, holding out her wrists. "I'm ready to go now." Cloud was a little surprised at how obedient she was being, but said nothing.

He led her to her cell.

* * *

Cid watched Aerith from her cell. It was a clean cell, bigger than an average one, clearing more than any criminal deserved. Still, Aerith refused to look at him or talk to him. Cid chuckled and turned to the ducklings. 

"There's a little experiment I want to do with her," he said, pacing in front of them. "One of you stay with her tonight." He looked and studied each of his agents carefully.

First was Tifa. Aerith's best friend and most-trusted of the three.

"How about you, Lockhart?" he said. Tifa was slightly taken aback.

"I can't, Cid," she said softly. "I can't do this to Aerith." She looked down at Cloud. "I think Cloud should be the one to do it." Cloud and Zack frowned.

"Me?" Cloud said naively. Tifa nodded. Zack shot her an annoyed look.

"Why not me? Why the Probie?" Tifa scoffed.

"Aerith gets along with sensible men, Zack. Not immature teenagers-wannabes." Cid laughed. She was right. He grabbed Cloud by the wrist and handcuffed him to Aerith.

"What!?" he exclaimed. He blushed as he looked at Aerith. "I… I can't be here all night. I…I still have work to do…"

"This _is _work, Strife," Cid said. Cloud gulped and looked away.

"Yes," he said quickly. "Of course it is, boss." Cid stepped away from him.

"Don't let her out of your sight." Cloud nodded.

Cid glanced back at Zack and Tifa, then headed out the door. Tifa walked over to Aerith, giving her a smile.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "Cloud's a nice guy. You'll get along with him." Aerith smiled weakly. Tifa planted a kiss on her cheek and left with Zack. Aerith looked back at Cloud. She smiled. Cloud grinned bashfully at her through the bars and sat down on the chair.

"So..." he said. "Got a deck of cards?"

* * *

**Cid suspects something, doesn't he? How will Aerith meet up wit Yazoo if she's cuffed to Cloud all night?**

**Find out, find out...**


	8. Seduction

**Bored on a cold winter's day, and no snow either. :( Thought I'd continue with this story, since the number of hits don't seem to be budging. :(**

* * *

Aerith glanced at the barred window, feeling the presence that called her again and again, urging her to escape and respond. She let out a sigh and turned back to Cloud , the agent who she was handcuffed to from outside the cell door.

He was struggling to shuffle a deck of cards, trying very hard not to drop them. Aerith smiled.

"We don't have to play cards, you know," she told him. Cloud looked up at her confusedly. Aerith smiled again and placed her hand on his. "We can just talk."

Cloud immediately looked away and blushed.

"Um…well, okay." He straightened up in his seat, careful not to hurt Aerith as he shifted his handcuffed hand. He blushed again as he looked back at her face. "Okay, Miss Gainsborough--"Aerith shook her head.

"Call me Aerith," she said, smiling. Cloud flushed a deeper shade of red.

"Okay, Aerith…" Aerith laughed.

"And I guess I can call you by your first name, Agent Strife?" Cloud grinned sheepishly.

"It's Cloud," he said. Aerith smiled, watching him thoughtfully.

"So, I guess we might as well get to know one another," she said. "I'm going to be here with you all night." Cloud sighed.

"Yeah," he muttered. "But don't worry, Cid's working hard to get you out of here." Aerith looked away sadly.

"I don't think he'll be able to. It's as if everything keeps pointing to me, even though I didn't kill those people." She shot a quick glance at the window again without Cloud noticing.

"I know," Cloud said, rubbing his face roughly with his free hand. "But we need proof." Aerith leaned her back against the wall and turned her head towards him, smiling a little.

"Well, there's nothing we can do now," she said, stretching her uncuffed arm. "Just wait, I guess." She looked at the window again, this time with Cloud watching.

"Why do you keep staring out the window?" he asked softly. Aerith quickly looked back at him. "Is it that awful in here?" Aerith managed a nervous laugh.

"No, that's not it," she said brightly. "I just space out sometimes, that's all." Cloud nodded. He let out a groan and arched his back. Aerith looked on.

"Something wrong with your back?" she asked. Cloud closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No, it's always been like this," he mumbled. "It's nothing…" He turned his back to her so he could arch his back further, groaning with discomfort. Aerith moved closer to him.

"Maybe I can help," she said, placing her hand on his shoulders. "I _am_ a nurse after all."

"No, it's okay," he said quickly, blushing again. Aerith began massaging his shoulders and back. Cloud closed his eyes and sighed with relief, his entire body relaxing. It felt really good. "Ahhh…" Aerith smiled.

"Feel better now?" Cloud merely waved his head, memorized by the feel of her hands against his aching shoulders. Aerith glanced down at his jacket and spotted the key to the handcuffs inside his pocket. She bit her lip and looked at her purse sitting on the table a few feet away outside the cell. She looked quickly again at the window.

"You know…" she said quietly into Cloud's ear. "I have a special tea that will help you relax even more in my purse." She pressed her temple to his, wrapping her free arm around his neck. Cloud swallowed.

"T-tea?" Aerith nodded and smiled smugly.

"Two packets," she whispered. "One for you… and one for me." Cloud opened his eyes a tiny bit and looked over at the purse.

What harm could a cup of tea do? It wasn't like she could escape while he was drinking. Besides, he knew he could trust her.

Cloud grabbed a long stick nearby and nudged the purse off the table, towards him. He picked it up and handed it to Aerith with a smile.

Aerith searched through her purse and pulled out a hot water container and two packets of tea. Then, she took out two plastic cups. Cloud watched, amused.

"Wow, you must have everything in there," he remarked. Aerith smiled bashfully.

"Just in case I meet a nice boy," she said, giving him a sweet smile. Cloud blushed. Aerith poured out the hot water and inserted the teabags. Cloud inhaled the tranquilizing frangances of the tea, letting out a sigh.

"I feel better already," he said with a grin. Aerith chuckled and shook her head.

"Just wait until you taste it," she said happily. She stared straight into his blue eyes. "It's to die for." She handed him his cup, picking up her own. She held it against her lip as she watched him drinking it with caution yet also enjoyment. He really trusted her.

Aerith glanced down at the single key in his pocket, then out the window. She blew gently on her tea, but did not drink it.

* * *

Tifa let out a soft yawn and rubbed her eyes. She had been staring at the same computer screen for the last 5 hours. She glanced over at Zack at his desk. He was working hard, as usual at this hour, popping an M&M into his mouth now and then. Tifa smiled and stood up. She straightened her trousers and walked over to him.

"Can I have one?" she asked politely, reaching for an M&M. Zack quickly snatched it away. "Hey!" Zack shook his head firmly.

"That's for letting Probie have the easy job of watching her and not me!" Tifa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Jeez, is that what you're sulking about? You are so immature sometimes, Zack. Even for you." Zack ignored her. Tifa scoffed. She looked around to make sure no one else was in the office. She then jumped onto the desk in front of Zack, wearing a flirtatious smirk on her face.

"Besides… wouldn't you rather be here with me?" she said seductively. She crossed her legs in front of him and undid the first button of her shirt. Zack still didn't look up at her, flicking through his files.

"No," he said, clearly not noticing. "I'd rather be at home watching _Indiana Jones_…" He glanced at his watch, disappointed. "…which starts in 2 minutes and 25 seconds… 24… 23… 22…21…" Tifa rolled her eyes and got off the table. She stomped back to her desk.

"I'd rather be home too," she muttered to herself. Tifa turned back to her computer and began working again. Zack looked over at her.

"Hey, Tifa," he said. Tifa looked at him from over the monitor. "I was thinking… it might not have been a good idea to get Cloud to guard Aerith." Tifa frowned.

"Why not?" Zack leaned back on his chair.

"Well, one: he's very trusting to the people he chooses to trust, and two: I think he may have a little crush on our suspect." Tifa blinked.

"And that's bad?" Zack shrugged.

"Depends on whether Aerith's going to take advantage of that or not."

"She would never take advantage of people," Tifa said firmly, shaking her head. "She's not like that." Zack shrugged again.

"I'm just saying," he said lightly, picking up his mug of coffee. "Just saying."

* * *

Cloud finished off the tea and sighed with satisfaction, grinning. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Wow," he said softly. "That really works." Aerith smiled. She pressed him against the wall on his side.

"It's supposed to get you relaxed and help you go to sleep," she whispered. Cloud struggled to keep his eyes open. "It's okay, It's not like I'm not going to escape when you sleep. It's not like I can." Cloud laughed softly. He looped his arm into the cell so he could lean against the wall more easily. Aerith eyed the key in his front pocket. "Shhh… go to sleep…" She moved her free hand out from between the bars and wrapped it around his shoulders, rocking him gently. "Don't worry about anything. You trust me to be good on my own, right? Just go to sleep…" Cloud slowly closed his eyes.

Aerith stared at him for a moment, making sure that he was asleep. Very carefully, she reached into his pocket and pulled out the key. She quickly released her hand from the handcuffs and stood up, backing away into the corner, gripping her wrist.

The handcuffs had cut against her skin and she was bleeding. It had been like that for hours, but she kept quiet.

She looked back at Cloud, sleeping peacefully. She smiled at him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "But I had no choice. I know you wouldn't have let me go." The presence she had sensed before appeared again, and she looked back at the barred window into the night.

She frowned, knowing someone was out there, and that meant trouble.

* * *

Yazoo leaned against a nearby tree, sipping on a bottle of beer in one hand, a loaded gun in the other. He glanced around the forest just a few yards away from the prison where Aerith was, where she had told him to wait for her.

He grunted with annoyance; it had been 20 minutes. He had gone in Sephiroth's place in case Aerith really was going to show up, but he knew she wouldn't.

How could she? She was locked in a cell, with an NCIS agent guarding her. He took another sip of beer, twirling the gun around on his finger.

"I knew that bitch was bluffing," he muttered, shaking his head.

"You mean this bitch?" a female voice a few feet away said. Yazoo jumped off the tree and stared, horror-struck, at the young woman.

It was her.

"How did you do that?" Yazoo choked. "How did you get out of jail? How did you get away from those cops?" She didn't answer. Slowly, she walked towards him.

Yazoo immediately pointed his gun at her and fired.

_Bang!_

She didn't react, and continued to make her way towards him. Yazoo aimed for the chest.

_Bang! Bang!_

Nothing changed.

_Bang! Bang!_

Still nothing.

_Bang!_

Yazoo fell back, but quickly scrambled away, still aiming his gun at her.

_Click._

The gun had fired all its bullets. Yazoo dropped the now useless weapon and jumped to his feet, still backing away from the glaring green eyes.

"So…" she said in a dangerous voice. She grabbed Yazoo by the collar and pulled him up to her. "Sephiroth sent one of his goons instead of having enough guts to see me." She threw him back onto the ground. She pulled her shirt open, revealing Scarlet's bullet-proof vest. Yazoo stared, astonished. She gave him a smug smile.

"Since I'm such a nice person," she said, dusting herself. "I'll overlook this… incident." Yazoo cautiously got to his feet, still holding his beer bottle. She eyed it keenly.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Yazoo said hoarsely. "You could have just gone to the police with the information. Why did you have to kill my colleagues?" She laughed almost manically.

"You don't think I know that going to the police would be simpler than all this?" she asked. "I never meant to kill Kadaj, but I realized that did some good. And getting rid of Scarlet did even more good." She smiled evilly. "It brought fear to Sephiroth and his followers. With fear, I have control." She took the file out of her pocket. "With control, I have power. And with power… I'll have revenge for my parents." Yazoo was breathing slowly to keep himself calm, but he seemed to be able to understand her intentions more than clearly.

"And now you're going to kill me because I know your intentions?" He backed away. She smiled warmly, shaking your head. She held out the file to him, glancing at the beer bottle.

"Right now, I'm kinda thirsty." Yazoo looked at the bottle. "Relax, you're safe as long as Sephiroth doesn't know about this." She held it up to him, smiling. Slowly, Yazoo exchanged the bottle for the file. She smiled and downed it, watching him carefully as he turned his back to her to read it.

His eyes widened with silent horror at what he read, each page mortifying him even more than the last. He glanced over his shoulder at her. She quickly turned away and acted like she was enjoying the drink and nothing more. Yazoo slipped the cell phone out of his front pocket and quickly dialled. She noticed, of course.

"Loz…" he whispered into the phone. "This is really big, I think the boss really has to see this…"

She frowned, knowing that he was going to ruin her plan. She held the glass bottle upward in her left hand and took slow steps towards Yazoo, who was still talking.

"I think he can really get the death penalty for this," Yazoo muttered, shaking his head. "There's no way he can get out of--" The beer bottle crashed down on the back of his head, shattering into a million pieces. Yazoo dropped the phone and the file, blood spluttering from his mouth and his hollow eyes widening in shock. He collapsed forward, as if in slow motion, and landed in the pool of his own blood.

Dead.

She exhaled wearily and tossed the remains of the glass bottle to the side. She stared down at her left hand, the hand that killed another innocent. She sighed and picked up the file next to the body. She dusted off the dirt and pocketed it again. She fixed up the black ribbon in her hair and sadly glanced at the prison where Cloud was. She sighed.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I know I let you down, but I'm doing this for us. As soon as this ordeal is over, we can get to know each other again and we can be together." She smiled and stared down at the corpse.

"I know we will."

* * *

**Oh my God, now Yazoo's dead. Uh… how the hell did Aerith do all that?? Pick up the clues! I'm going to immediately work on the next chapter now because my baby cousin's finally asleep (yes! dear god yes!!), but _PLEASE_ review this story! I feel like it's such a failure :(**


	9. Had or Hand?

Tifa let out a yawn and opened her eyes.

She was still sitting at her desk, her head on the keyboard. It had been a painfully long night and she couldn't help but pass out at some point. Tifa glanced over at Zack's desk to find that he wasn't there. She struggled to sit back up.

Someone had placed a warm jacket over her shoulders while she slept. She checked the tag, and it read _Calvin Klein_. Tifa smirked.

Zack was also into labels.

A cup of coffee was placed in front of her as Zack appeared with a smile.

"Sleep well?" he asked politely. Tifa took the cup and laughed.

"Yes I did," she said. "Very well, actually." She sipped the coffee and sighed with satisfaction. She pulled off the jacket and handed it back to Zack. "Thanks." He grinned and took it. He glanced at his watch.

"It's around 7," he said. "Probie's probably awake by now." Tifa nodded, standing up.

"If he slept at all last night, that is." She smiled at Zack. "I think he'll need a coffee after spending the night chained to Aerith." They shared a laugh.

Just then, the phone began to ring. Tifa frowned and picked it up.

"Lockhart." The man at the other end seemed reluctant to speak.

"Uh… yes. Tifa," the man said. "This is Vincent."

"Oh, hi Doc," she said, exchanging a look with Zack. "What's up? Why are you calling?" Another pause.

"Well… I was expecting to speak to Cid." He cleared his throat nervously. Tifa frowned.

"What is it?" Vincent sighed.

"Another body's been found," he said grimly. "And I think all of you should come down here."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"I think you'll recognize who it is," Vincent muttered. Tifa seemed confused, but shrugged, looking over at Zack, who was equally confused.

"Okay…" she said, chuckling nervously. "Um…where are you?" Another grim, ominously long pause.

"I'm… outside Midgar Prison."

Tifa felt her blood freeze immediately as she heard those words. She almost dropped the phone.

"W-what…?" she muttered hoarsely. "Midgar… but, that's where…" She looked at Zack. "… but that's where Aerith…" Her eyes widened in horror as she suddenly realized something. "Oh, no. Please, Vince, you can't mean…"

"I think it would be best if you came down here and see for yourself." Vincent sighed deeply again. "I'm sorry, Tifa."

Tifa collapsed back into her seat as she hung up the phone. Zack noticed her sudden paleness.

"What is it?" he asked softly. He kneeled down next to her. "What did Vincent want?" Tifa snapped out of her trance and cleared her throat. She bent under the desk and took out her NCIS cap.

"A body was found outside Midgar Prison," she said quietly. "And Vincent says this is something Cid has to see." She stood up and brushed past a shell-shocked Zack.

"Midgar Prison?? Where Cloud and Aerith--"

"--spent the night handcuffed together," Cid finished as he came down from the Director's office. His expression was grim. "Grab Strife's camera, Tifa. We're getting to the bottom of this." Tifa nodded.

"Yes, boss." She ran to Cloud's desk and took the camera from one of his drawers. Zack immediately held out his own cup of coffee, still steaming and unused, to Cid as he walked past. Cid snatched it off him without a word.

"Let's go, people."

* * *

Cloud groaned as he struggled to sit up. He pulled his hand out from the bars and was shocked to see that Aerith wasn't at the other end of the handcuffs.

He frantically looked up, but then sighed with relief as he said Aerith curled up in the warmer side of the cell, peacefully sleeping. Her left hand was twitching a little, Cloud spotted a fresh cut at her now-swollen wrist, undoubtedly from the handcuffs. He smiled sadly.

Aerith started to stir, and she slowly opened her green eyes. She looked over at Cloud and smiled sleepily, holding up her left wrist,

"Sorry," she said. "You fell asleep before I could ask you for the key." Cloud chuckled.

"I actually slept really well," he remarked. "That tea was awesome." Aerith smiled. She sat up.

"What did you expect?" she laughed. "Poison?" Cloud just rolled his eyes and smiled.

His cell phone went off. Cloud opened it and immediately saw that it was from the Director. He quickly pressed it to his ear. Shera's voice came instantly.

"Agent Strife," she said in a hard and quiet voice. "You are not to react in any way to what I am about to tell you. Whatsoever." Cloud frowned a little, but obeyed. He gave Aerith a smile.

"Could you give me a minute?" he asked politely. Aerith nodded, and he stood up and turned away.

"Director? Yeah, I'm still here." Aerith frowned as she tried to listen, tying up her hair with a pink ribbon at the same time.

* * *

Vincent was where he said he was, a few yards away from the prison in Midgar. As Cid and the ducklings arrived at the scene, they realized that they were the only other people there.

Zack and Tifa avoided getting in Cid's way, because it was clear to see that a vein was sticking out of his forehead. They carefully approached Vincent, who was with his assistant. Tifa let out a gasp as she saw the person he was standing over.

Yazoo.

"Oh, no…" she breathed, shaking her head. "Not his brother too…" Zack placed a hand on her shoulder, but she continued to stare, mortified, at the body. Vincent sighed, removing his gloves and standing up.

"Yazoo Jenovic," he said, directly to Cid beside him. "Another member of the SHM Mafia." Cid was clearly getting more and more impatient, but he stayed calm. He kneeled down and examined Yazoo's severed head.

"Cause of death?" he asked. Vincent held up a plastic container with the remains of a glass bottle inside.

"The killer smashed this onto the back of his head, causing severe hemorrhage," Vincent said matter-of-factly. "The time of death is unclear until I get him into autopsy." Cid stared silently at Yazoo. "I've sent all the details on the examination to Yuffie, like how the bottle was held and what angle it was brought down onto the victim." He sighed again as he watched his friend, reading his mind. "…and how hard she brought it down on him." Cid closed his eyes to calm himself down, desperately. Zack exchanged a nervous look with Tifa and they backed away slightly.

"I'll check with Yuffie later," Cid muttered. He looked back at Vincent. "Where's my agent?" Vincent looked up at the prison.

"Go see for yourself," he said. "The Director said to keep this low-key, for your sake. The unit that Cloud was in is isolated, but completely wired with security cameras. You should check it out." Cid frowned, shaking his head.

"It doesn't make any sense," he muttered. "The prison is locked by a code, not a key. How would anyone be able to escape?" He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand roughly. He glanced at the ducklings, a look of suppressed rage. "Where are they?!" Zack jumped slightly as Tifa immediately dropped her gaze anxiously to the ground. Cid marched past them towards the prison.

Tifa took a few quick shots of the body with the camera before Zack grabbed her hand and pulled her away after Cid.

* * *

Aerith held out her wrist as Cloud carefully wrapped a bandage around it. His expression was ominous.

The entrance door slid open as Cid stomped in, Zack and Tifa following him. He stopped in front of the cell door as Tifa quickly ran the security card through, opening it. Aerith watched, confused, but Cloud looked like he expected to see Cid barge in at some point. He took off her bandage and backed away as Cid marched towards Aerith. He grabbed her by the shirt collar and slammed her into the back wall.

"Why are you still here?!" Cid bellowed, enraged. Aerith was obviously terrified. "WHY?!" She struggled to release herself from his firm grip.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about!" she cried. Cid pulled harder, making her choke.

"Another member of Sephiroth's gang was murdered last night, outside this prison!" Aerith's mouth fell open.

"I… I didn't kill anyone!" she gasped. "How could I? I was in here with him all night!" She pointed at Cloud. Cid shot Cloud a venomous glare, who tried hard to not look guilty. Aerith noticed. "Tell him, Cloud! Tell him!" Cloud closed his eyes.

"You gave me that tea," he said. "It made me fall asleep before you did." He held up his still-handcuffed hand. "And you told me yourself you took the key from my pocket to unlock yourself." Tifa gasped, horrified.

"Aerith… how could you?" Tears streamed down Aerith's face.

"No! It's not like that!" she said. "It was cutting into my wrist! I gave him the tea because he said he wasn't feeling good, that's all! I saw the key in his pocket and I took it because he fell asleep before I could ask him to uncuff me! I swear!" Cid gripped her left hand, studying the cut carefully.

It was clearly from the handcuffs, it was deep and swollen, seemingly to have been hours old. But Cid knew this could be seen as a cut from a glass bottle as well. He released Aerith, who collapsed onto the ground, rubbing her neck and breathing hard. Cid stared down at her coldly.

"How did you get out?" he muttered. "And why didn't you run? Why are you still here?" Aerith let out a cry of frustration.

"I didn't escape!" she shouted. "I don't know how to escape! Why won't you believe me?" Cid grabbed her shirt collar again and pulled her up to him.

"Because everything points to you!" Aerith collapsed back down as he let go, in tears. Tifa ran over to her side.

Cid stormed towards the door.

"Don't let her out of your sight!" he said to Zack as he brushed by. "Strap her to a straitjacket or whatever! Don't blink and don't breathe!" Zack stiffened up a little. Cid stopped and glared at him. "You're still breathing!" Zack held his breath and puffed up his cheeks. Cid waited until he began to turn red before leaving. Zack exhaled rapidly and almost fell over.

Cloud continued to watch Aerith from behind the bars. She stared back with teary eyes.

"I'm not a monster, Cloud," she muttered, shaking her head. "I didn't kill him, I swear." Cloud sighed, but he nodded.

"We'll sort this out," he said, glancing at Tifa beside her. "Sooner or later." Zack walked up behind him. He leaned against the wall, crossed his arms and shook his head grimly.

"We will… or the FBI."

* * *

The door slid open as Cid entered Yuffie's lab. He had a big cup of_ Materi-AH! _with him, much to Yuffie's delight. She took off her glasses and took the cup, sipping the straw contently.

"I'm so glad you came, Cid," she said brightly. "I know Vincent wouldn't have let you stick around there for too long." Cid smirked. "But don't worry, he got to the scene early with a few other investigators and they sent me every detail there was at the crime scene. Everything." She set down the _Materi-AH!_ and ran over to her computer as she signaled Cid to watch the plasma. He frowned.

"Everything?" Yuffie nodded enthusiastically.

"I went through the security tapes of last night at the prison," she said. "That's a helluva lot of tapes. But I found out something." She clicked her mouse and four security videos appeared on the screen. "At about 2257 hours, all of the cameras shut off. Including the ones outside the prison." Yuffie pointed to the plasma which showed the crime scene with Yazoo approaching in the distance. A second later, it cut off. Cid frowned.

"That would allow the suspect to do whatever the hell she did without being seen at all," he said quietly. He touched his lip thoughtfully. "But that wouldn't explain how she got out of the cell. It's protected by a unique security code installed by the FBI themselves. When I got there this morning, it still asked for a code which meant that section of the prison was still wired. It wasn't like Strife had the key on him either." He looked over at Yuffie. "How would she have done that?" Yuffie shrugged.

"There could have been a third party." Cid looked at her.

"Why do you say that?" Yuffie just smiled and didn't answer. A video of Aerith in her cell appeared. She had just released herself from the handcuffs and was staring out the window.

A second later, the video cut off. Cid narrowed his eyes.

"So she wasn't the one who shut off the security?" Yuffie shook her head, giving him an annoyed look.

"It doesn't just take one plug to be pulled to shut off the entire Midgar Prison security system," she said. "It involves several codes and serious knowledge to crack them all. We're talking about a computer genius here." Her expression turned serious. "But the weird thing is… Aerith Gainsborough's fingerprints were the only non-personnel samples found in the security unit. And from what I see, she sure knew what she was doing." Cid rubbed his chin.

"Maybe she's telling us less than she should be," he muttered grimly. He had interrogated suspects before, and he knew what the masterminds were capable of. He knew they were able to live out double lives and keep their appearances, and letting your guard down because of their appearances could be deadly.

"Tell me what happened to the Mafia kid." Yuffie turned back to her computer.

"Okay, so I ran some samples of the dirt near the body, and I found that there were traces of copper, iron and gunpowder in them. From a bullet fired from an M1911, to be exact." She beamed at Cid, who was impressed. "Vince found the gun on the victim, and all six .45 ACP bullets were used. It seems that the victim was firing in one particular direction, but the target was never hit." She typed in a few keys and the blueprint of the gun appeared on the plasma. "Footprints of the attacker tell us that they knew they were being fired at, and continued to approach our victim." Cid nodded.

"Bullet-proof vest," he muttered. Yuffie nodded. "So where did the glass bottle come in?" Yuffie looked back at her computer screen and typed up a few things. Pictures of the broken bottle appeared on the plasma.

"Pasting the remains of the bottle together," she said, looking up at it. "I think our victim was just drinking from it first." She subconsciously plucked up the _Materi-AH!_ and sipped it. "The fingerprints clearly show that." She looked back at her screen. "Then he must have handed it to the attacker willingly. I don't know what for, but there are no signs of struggle." The plasma changed into a virtual canvas with two figures standing. "I've managed to recreate the scene when Yazoo was killed… and it shows that he turned around, his back to the attacker." The figure did so. "And the attacker then smashed the bottle onto his head from behind." She frowned. "Let's see… the angle was about 50 degrees true, The attacker placed her left foot a few inches in front… so yeah. It was smashed down at a 50 degrees angle from the left." Cid stared at the plasma for a long time. Yuffie looked over at him. "Cid? Did you hear me?" Cid nodded, not looking at her.

"Play that over again," he told her. Yuffie obeyed. Cid walked closer to the plasma screen as he watched the reenactment. Yuffie went over to his side with her _Materi-AH!_ and stared at the screen, but with confusion. She glanced over at Cid.

"What is it?" she asked. Cid held up his hand and touched the screen. Something wasn't right.

"The hand…" he muttered. "She's using her left hand." Yuffie blinked and looked back at the plasma, sipping her drink.

"Of course she would," she said almost naively. "The bottle was smashed down at a 50 degrees true angle." Cid's eyes narrowed even more.

"And the fingerprints belonged to Gainsborough too?" Yuffie nodded.

"I ran the tests over twice, one with the remains of the bottle and one with the recreation." She put a hand on her hip. "Do you think she was framed or something?" Cid ignored her last question.

"What about the weapon used on Kadaj Jenovic?" he said. "Which hand was that used with?" Yuffie shuffled through her files.

"Uh… the left, according to the fingerprints." She looked back at Cid. "What is it? Why? What's your gut telling you?"

Cid continued to stare at the plasma, pasting together the pieces. He remembered back to the time when he watched Aerith shake hands with Cloud, and the time she signed her name for temporary release.

Cid exhaled deeply and backed away from the screen, turning around to Yuffie beside him. He crossed his arms.

"I think it's time we had a word with Elmyra Gainsborough."


	10. All The Facts

Cid was in a bad mood. A _very _bad mood. 

Shera sat patiently at her desk as she watched him pace back and forth, knowing the consequences of his actions.

"Will you just relax for a minute, Agent Highwind?" Shera snapped. Cid stopped and glared at her.

"I asked Fair to bring the suspect's mother in 20 minutes ago!" he barked. Shera winced in surprise, but simply shook her head and sighed.

"Even after all those years, you still don't know what patience is," she muttered, sipping her cup of coffee. Cid sighed with frustration.

"I can't just stand here and do nothing!" he exclaimed angrily. "I… I…" The vein popped out even more in his forehead. Shera slipped on her glasses and turned to her computer screen.

"You need a coffee," she finished for him in a light tone, typing at her keyboard. She was clearly used to this.

Cid took a deep breath and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Shera smiled to herself.

Marching towards the ducklings' working area, he saw Zack waiting for him, with a cup of steaming coffee.

"Where is she?!" he spat. Zack jumped, almost spilling the coffee.

"I… I put her in the interrogation room, boss…" he murmured. Cid stopped in front of him, murder in his eyes.

"And you didn't tell me?!" Zack suppressed a reaction.

"W…well, you told me to always put the suspects in the interrogation room when they come in." He swallowed. "You… you told me to always do it and never ask about it!"

Cid slammed his palm onto the back of Zack's head and snatched the coffee before walking away, leaving Zack to wish he had never said anything at all.

As he made his way into the interrogation room, he immediately saw Tifa standing in front of the two-way mirror, staring at Elmyra waiting anxiously inside.

Cid's expression softened as he saw the sad look on her face. She didn't even look at him as he went over next to her. They watched Elmyra for a few moments before Tifa spoke.

"What do you want from Elmyra, Cid?" she asked quietly. Cid looked at her. "Do you think she's hiding something?"

Cid looked back into the other room. He shrugged, sipping the coffee. "I dunno. I think she is… but at the same time I don't think she is." Tifa gave him a confused look, making him smile. "Yeah, I know."

There was a knock on the door, and Cid turned to see Elena, Shera's assistant.

"Special Agents Highwind and Lockhart," she said timidly. "The Director needs to see you both in private." Cid glanced at Tifa, and nodded. He followed Elena towards Shera's office with Tifa behind him.

As soon as they stepped inside, Elena immediately went out and snapped the door shut. Cid realized Zack was there as well, talking quietly with Shera.

"What did you need to see us about, Director?" Tifa asked. Shera sighed wearily, a worried look on her face.

"There's someone who wanted to talk to you," she replied. "About something very important." She looked over her shoulder at someone Cid and Tifa didn't even notice.

It was Loz.

He was wearing a hat to hide his face as he keep his gaze down. Only when he slowly lifted his head up to look at them did they see his face. Tifa let out a gasp of surprise.

"Loz…" she breathed. Loz managed a weak smile.

"Special Agent Lockhart," he said, giving her a nod. He looked over at Cid. "Special Agent Highwind. There's some information I think you'll be interested in to know about."

Cid's calm expression didn't change. He knew mobsters long enough not to trust them, but having lost his wife and young daughter a few years ago, he knew Loz had been through too much to put on an act. Loz sighed deeply and sat down in a chair, rubbing his face with his hands. Tifa went over next to him.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, putting a hand on his back. Loz quickly shook his head.

"No," he said. "No… I'm fine." He stood back up, looking at everyone in the room. "Sephiroth doesn't know I'm here." he took a few papers out of his pocket and set them on Shera's desk for everyone to see.

"Just before my brother Yazoo died," he said. "He was talking to me on his phone." He glanced up at Cid. "Sephiroth and I got to the body about 15 minutes after, but he was already dead." Loz closed his eyes and sighed deeply before continuing. "After he dropped the phone, I was still on the other line, and I heard a voice. A female voice." Tifa moved closer.

"Aerith's voice?" she whispered, afraid of the answer. Loz shook his head.

"I dunno," he muttered. "But I heard that voice somewhere before, and I never forget things like that." He shifted some papers so Cid could see. They were telephone bills, showing the time and date of some calls. Cid frowned as he saw that the majority was from a pay phone. Loz watched him closely.

"Two weeks before Kadaj was murdered, someone made repeated anonymous phone calls to Sephiroth, every time saying only a few words like _You can't hide forever _before hanging up." He moved a blurred photograph over towards them. "Sephiroth hired an investigator to see who it was, and he took a few pictures of a young woman who had been coming every night to the nearby pay phone." He moved another picture, and this one wasn't blurry at all.

It was the same picture of Aerith found on Kadaj at the crime scene. Tifa stared at it with bitterness as Loz kept talking.

"My brothers and I didn't know who she was, all we knew was that she would always wear a black ribbon in her hair." He looked down at it. "But Sephiroth knew. He told us he didn't remember her name, but she was a face he could never forget. I think Scarlet remembered as well. When the girl called again, he confronted her. He demanded to know what she wanted, and she told him to meet up with her. She said she had something important to show him, and that would be related to the Cetra case." He sighed again and shook his head sadly. "She didn't give us her name. All she told us was to refer to her as _Miss G. _It wasn't until right after Kadaj went to meet with her did Sephiroth realize who she was." Loz swallowed. "Two days ago, she called again, and told Sephiroth to meet her outside the Midgar prison to talk. I don't know how she would have gotten out, but she assured us she would be there. Yazoo went in the boss's place."

Loz collapsed into a nearby chair and closed his eyes, the story becoming unbearable. Tifa comforted him.

"Sephiroth told us not to get the police involved," he said. "But now Yazoo's gone as well, I don't think there's any other choice." He looked up at Tifa with sad eyes. "I'm sorry." Tifa smiled tearfully at him.

Cid, unlike Shera and Zack, didn't show any signs of emotion towards Loz's story. He was deep in thought, putting the pieces Loz had to the puzzle.

"Did you say she asked to be called Miss G?" he asked suddenly. Loz nodded, while Shera glared at him.

"G stands for Gainsborough," she said, slightly annoyed. "What else would she as an alias?" Cid chose to ignore her. He just shook his head and headed straight out of the office, leaving blank expressions on his colleagues' faces. Zack quickly rushed after him while Tifa stayed with Loz and Shera.

Zack thought he lost track of his boss for a second until he spotted him going into the interrogation room. Running as fast as he could inside, he glanced into the two-way mirror to see that Elmyra Gainsborough was still sitting there.

The interrogation room flew open, making both Elmyra and Zack jump. Cid calmly closed the door and went over to the seat in front of Elmyra, holding some files. She stared at him irritably.

"I've been waiting here for almost an hour," she snapped. "What did you want with me?" Cid didn't look at her; instead he was looking through the family history file.

"I think there's something you're not telling us, Mrs Gainsborough," he said. "Something that I think is very important." Elmyra scoffed, offended.

"I told you everything!" she exclaimed angrily. "Aerith is innocent!" Cid leaned back on hsi chair and watched her with a look of amusement on his face.

"I heard you say the 'innocence' part," he said in a light tone. "I 'm just not sure about the 'everything' part." Elmyra stared, her mouth open with confusion. She clearly didn't get what was going on, and that was annoying the already very annoyed Cid quite a bit.

He slammed down all the files hard on the table before jumping out of his chair.

"There's a missing piece to this puzzle," he said in a dangerously calm voice, circling the terrified woman like a vulture. "And I think you have it."

"I… I don't know what you're talking about." Cid moved Kadaj's file in front of Elmyra so she could see it.

"First victim, Kadaj Jenovic," he said as Elmyra flicked through. "Stabbed through the chest with a kitchen knife. A sample of hair and a black ribbon was found in the scene, along with an eye witness and security footage. Some blood was found on the handle of the weapon that did not appear to be the victim's, meaning the attacker cut their hand while using the weapon. DNA tests confirm it to be your daughter's." He stopped and leaned in so he could speak into Elmyra's ear. "But when I met Aerith, there were no injuries whatsoever on her hands and arms." Elmyra sat very still, but stayed silent. Cid slid Scarlet's file and continued his pacing.

"Scarlet Davies, second victim. Strangled to death outside the hotel Kadaj was murdered in. Forensics told us she got into a fight with the attacker, and the attacker banged their head into the brick wall, hence we were able to trace the DNA from the blood sample." He stopped again behind Elmyra. "One of my team said she saw your daughter in the area just a few hours before Davies was found, and you confirmed that she left for the hospital earlier than usual after receiving a text message. Her alibi was that she was going into town, coincidentally exactly where Davies was killed, to buy a teddy bear for one of her patients who she was informed was having heart surgery later that day." Cid chuckled a little. "That was a good excuse, but we still couldn't be sure." He leaned in over Elmyra. "But when your daughter came to us again, there were no injuries." Elmyra still didn't say anything, looking as though her worse nightmares were about to come true. Cid went over and sat back down on his seat, taking out the last file.

"Yazoo Jenovic, our latest victim," he said. "Killed right outside Midgar Prison last night. Where your daughter was kept with one of my agents. Jenovic was killed when a glass bottle was slammed down his head from behind at a 50 degrees true angle. Aerith's fingerprints were found on the remains." Elmyra frowned and looked up at him from across the table.

"Wait a minute…" she said. "Are you telling me Aerith escaped??" Cid shook his head.

"She's was still in the prison when we came in this morning." Elmyra was as confused as Zack was, who was still listening in.

"But… then how would she have done all that?" she breathed. "If she actually did it, that is," she added quickly. Cid smirked and shook his head.

"The security cameras were all shut off, meaning someone tampered with the security system." He smiled again. "Guess whose fingerprints were the only non-personel found in the room?" Elmyra acted like she never heard his last question.

"But how could she have done all that?" she said. "If she was under close observation of one of your agents, let alone barred inside a cell! And why would she come back if she knew a way out?!"

"That's what's bothering me," Cid said quietly. "I don't know, and Aerith doesn't seem to know either." He leaned back on his chair again and stared at Elmyra for a long time.

"What hand does Aerith use?" he asked after a while. Elmyra frowned at such a random question.

"Uh… um… right…?" she said, unsure. "Why do you ask?" Cid slowly, very slowly, stood up.

"Because…" he said. "I think… that the killer…" He looked her straight in the eyes. "… is left-handed."

At that very moment, Elmyra's blood froze. She immediately looked down and kept her widened eyes on the table. Cid's expression hardened and drew closer to the petrified Elmyra, wanting answers.

"What is going on?!" he demanded. "Everything points to Aerith Gainsborough, but it can't be Aerith Gainsborough! All the facts say that she's guilty, but all the facts say that she's innocent as well! Her DNA is found at all the crime scenes, and her fingerprints are found on all the murder weapons! Why?" Elmyra closed her eyes and shook her head. "WHY?!"

"It… it can't be.." she muttered, shaking her head. "It couldn't…" Cid leaned in, eager to hear what she had to say.

"What?" he asked. "What can't be?" Elmyra said nothing. "There's something you're not telling us, isn't there?" He took her firmly by the shoulders. "Tell us! Tell us who the girl with the black ribbon is!" Elmyra still didn't open her eyes.

"I didn't think it would matter," she mumbled. "We… we didn't think anyone needed to know."

"Who's we?"

"Ifalna, Faremis and I. We didn't think it would mean anything. It would have just been a tragedy that no one would need to uncover ever again. It would have been too painful for any of us to take."

"What would?" Elmyra emitted a weary sigh and slowly look up at Cid.

"Aerith wasn't an only child," she said in a whisper. She felt Cid's grip loosen and his hands slid down her arms.

"What are you saying…?" Elmyra took another deep breath and shook her head.

"She was a twin."


	11. Stupid Mistake

Cid immediately reached down and flipped open the family history file.

"There is no record of another child being born," he muttered, scanning through it. Elmyra sighed and closed her eyes.

"That's because Ellis… that was her name… because she died 2 days after they were born," she said grimly. Cid looked back at her, disgusted.

"Why wouldn't you have recorded the birth?" he said harshly. He slammed down the file. "Didn't you realize the consequences?" Elmyra held her head in her hands.

"I told them it wouldn't be necessary, but they wouldn't listen!" she cried. "They didn't want to bring up their baby's death ever again!" She dissolved into tears.

Cid sighed and glanced up at the two-way mirror, where a shell-shocked Zack was. He gave him a look that told Zack exactly what to do.

To get Aerith. Zack ran out of the room and headed straight for Shera's office with the news.

Cid looked back at Elmyra and shook his head.

"I'm going to need the name of the doctor who delivered the baby," he said coolly, taking out a notepad. He waited a moment for Elmyra to recover herself. "I know this isn't your fault, Mrs Gainsborough." Elmyra looked at him. "But things still look very bad for Aerith."

* * *

Aerith sat in silence as Cid explained the entire story to her as Shera and the ducklings listened. Elmyra was there as well.

"I'm… a twin?" Aerith felt her breath caught in her throat. She looked over at Elmyra. "W…why didn't you ever tell me?" Elmyra shook her head grimly.

"Your parents were grief-stricken after your sister died," she told her. "So they erased everything to do with her in attempt to stop the pain." She glanced at Cid and Shera. "I never thought it would end up like this." Aerith rubbed her forehead roughly, trying to think straight.

"But… if she died… then how…?" She shifted her gaze to Cloud. He gave her a reassuring smile before walking over to Cid with some papers.

"We found the doctor," he said. "Rufus Shinra." Cid took the papers as Shera read them over his shoulder. She raised her eyebrows, impressed.

"A very well-respected doctor," she remarked. Cid looked at her.

"But even the best have flaws." Shera gave him an annoyed look. She sighed.

"Alright," she said sternly. "I'm granting Miss Gainsborough permission to go see this Dr Shinra, but not for too long and she will be under close supervision." She looked back at Cid. "If there really is a twin sister out there, you have to make sure to find her fast or we'll both lose our jobs." Cid smirked and nodded.

"Since when have I let you down?" Shera rolled her eyes and turned back towards Elmyra and Aerith.

"I've asked two FBI agents to be there with you," she said. Aerith nodded. "Even with the information given to us by your mother, there is still no physical evidence that your twin sister ever existed." Elmyra knew what she was about to say next.

"So even if Aerith is innocent… she'll still go to prison?" Shera nodded, but then smiled.

"Unless the twin sister is found."

* * *

"Did you ever expect this to be the ending?" Zack asked Cloud as he led the way towards the hospital where Aerith was born. Cloud shrugged.

"It sure explains a lot, though." He glanced at Aerith and smiled a little. "At least now we know she never did any of those things." Zack slapped the back of Cloud's head.

"No it doesn't!" he said, as Cloud rubbed his head, annoyed. "Don't let your guard down like that, Probie!"

"Okay, okay!" Cloud said irritably. "I'll stop."

Barret and Tseng were two of the FBI agents that came along. Barret and Cid had been friends for years now, so Barret usually trusted him when it came to cases. Tseng was a lot younger than both of them, but he was just as sharp. He stuck close to the suspect and Elmyra Gainsborough, who had come along too, not letting her out of his sight.

Cid flashed the front desk his NCIS badge where a young woman was sitting.

"Could you tell us where to find Rufus Shinra?" The woman nodded, typing quickly on her laptop.

"3rd floor," she told him. "You'll find him there." Cid gave her a nod of appreciation and headed for the stairs.

Tifa went closer to Barret so she could talk to him without Tseng hearing.

"What's going to happen to Aerith now?" she asked in a whisper. Barret shrugged, leaning over to her.

"At this point, she's still a serial killer." Tifa shot a quick glance at Aerith and Tseng, sighing deeply.

They all stopped in front of an office door. Zack and Cloud parted to the side as Cid marched towards it, banging hard on the door.

"SHINRA!" he yelled. "Open the door!" Approaching footsteps came instantly. The door opened and a man seemingly in his mid-40s looked out, outraged.

"What is it?" he said, glaring. He noticed there were quite a lot of people outside besides Cid. "What's going on here?" Cid seized him by the collar and pushed him back into the room. Tifa covered her mouth at her boss's viciousness.

"Special Agent Cid Highwind, NCIS." Rufus started to choke as he tried to pull out of Cid's firm grip.

"What… what do you want from me…?" Cid glanced over his shoulder and motioned Aerith to step forward.

She was scared, no, she was angry. No. Aerith didn't know how to feel. She just didn't want to face this man, she didn't know why, but she just didn't. Elmyra saw this and took her hand.

"It's alright, sweetheart," she said softly. "You have nothing to lose from this." Aerith smiled back and took a deep breath.

She kept her eyes on the ground as she walked towards the two men. Slowly, she lifted her darkened eyes up and looked at Rufus.

She thought he was about to have a heart attack when he saw her. Cid noticed too.

"I think you have some skeletons in your closet, Doc." Rufus raised a shaking finger at Aerith.

"You…" he breathed. Aerith was offended.

"My name is Aerith Gast," she said in a firm voice. Rufus seemed to calm down a little. "I think you know why I'm here." Cid threw Rufus onto the ground and stepped aside for Aerith and Elmyra. Rufus straightened himself up.

"So you're Aerith…" he muttered, studying her carefully.

"Who did you think I was?" she asked. Rufus looked away. Aerith was getting angry now. "Look at me!" She took a step closer to him.

"I'm being accused of killing three people," she exclaimed angrily. "And I don't know why!" She pointed at Elmyra. "My adopted mother just told me that I had a twin sister who died, and you were the doctor who delivered us!" She stopped for breath, but glued her venomous glare onto the doctor. "What is going on?"

Rufus sighed wearily and rubbed his face with his hand.

"I knew I was going to regret this one day," he mumbled to himself. Tifa stepped in.

"Please," she pleaded. "We need to know exactly what happened. Before someone else gets hurt." Rufus sighed again.

"Okay," he said quietly, not noticing as Cloud switched on a sound recorder behind him.

Aerith's expression softened as she realized how damaged and hurt Rufus seemed.

"My sister's alive, isn't she?" Rufus closed his eyes, but slowly nodded. Elmyra's heart began to race as she started to feel the anger overcome her.

"You told us!" she muttered shakily. "You told us she died…" Rufus turned away, everyone else still anxiously waiting for him to talk.

"It was 22 years ago," he said. "A man came to me and told me there were complications with his wife's pregnancy. I examined her and I saw that the baby's heart was failing." He paused, taking another deep breath. "The transplant list was long at that time, so I suggested that the heart be fixed instead of replaced. The baby was born and I performed the operation." He closed his eyes. "She died that very night."

Elmyra let out a soft gasp, but Aerith's face stayed emotionless. Rufus continued.

"Something like this had happened before, and this would have ended my career," he said quickly, attempting to protect himself. Tifa, Zack, and Cloud stared at him with disgust. Cid was beyond this point.

"What did you do?" he hissed. Rufus hung his head as Cid moved closer with his deathly glower. "What did you do?"

"I had another patient, Ifalna Gast," he continued. "I delivered her twin daughters the other day, and they were both beautiful and healthy." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't know what I was thinking, but they had two beautiful daughters while the other couple had lost theirs. I was still scared of losing my job, so I… I switched the babies." Elmyra almost fell down, helped up again by Tifa and Zack behind her.

"You told us she died," she gasped. "You…you gave her back to us, and she was dead…" Rufus shook his head.

"That wasn't their baby," he murmured. Elmyra broke down in tears again. "I was just an intern then. It…it was a stupid mistake."

Aerith was breathing hard now, unable to believe what she just heard.

"You know who she is, don't you?" Rufus looked over at her. "That's why you reacted as you did when you saw me." Rufus slowly nodded.

"She came to me 5 years ago." He smiled at Aerith. "She's the exact mirror image of you, but I can see one difference." He drew closer to her. "Your eyes… your eyes are pure and innocent, I can see. Her eyes, they had a more sinister stare within them." He stopped and his gaze drifted off once more. "Perhaps from the life she was forced to live." Aerith frowned.

"What is her name?"

"The family's name was Crescent, and they named her immediately after she was born, or the baby that she succeeded. Lucrecia." Tifa quickly took notes. "The family had fallen apart after Lucrecia was born, and I think that was my fault too. Both the mother and father had brown eyes, while Lucrecia had green. She told me her mother left when she was 7 years old, and left in the care of her abusive father who never loved her because he thought she was a result of an affair. One day, he was injured in an accident and needed a blood transfusion, and Lucrecia agreed to donate. That was when she found out she wasn't his daughter. After this, arguments began again between her parents and they agreed to have a DNA test to prove the mother never had an affair." Rufus stopped and sighed again. "That was when she found out." Cid watched him carefully.

"What happened to the parents?" he asked. Rufus shook his head.

"They weren't really the caring type, from what I heard," he said. "They abandoned her." Aerith shared a sad look with Tifa. They knew Lucrecia must have been through a lot. Cid allowed Rufus to continue.

"So… she tracked me down, and I told her everything." He smiled a little. "She was amazed, and she wanted more than anything to find her real parents, who would be able to love her like she wanted." He looked back at Cid and the ducklings. "I truly am sorry."

Cid sighed and shook his head. He took out some handcuffs and put them on Rufus, who wasn't surprised.

"Sorry isn't enough in this case," Cid said. "You're under arrest." Rufus stared at the ground but he nodded, understanding completely. He glanced at Aerith.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

* * *

Back home at HQ, the ducklings were busy researching their new suspect. Cid came down from Shera's office towards them. Cloud stood up and signaled him to look at the plasma as he typed up the data on his computer.

"I found her, boss," he said, and a photo of Lucrecia appeared on the screen.

"Lucrecia Crescent, 22. She graduated at just 19 at MIT with full honors with triple majors in Software Development, Chemistry and Physics. She also received a Master's Degree from LSU in Cryptology." Cid whistled.

"At least we know how she cracked the code in Midgar Prison." He looked at Zack. "Was Shinra telling the truth about the parents?" Zack nodded.

"The parents moved to New Jersey when she was still in high school, and the records say she stayed." Cid nodded.

"And on the same year, she adapted the surname _Gast, _though not officially," Cloud said. "That probably explains her alias Miss _G_." Tifa stood up from her desk, her hand still on the mouse.

"There's more, Cid," she said. "There's a juvenile record here." Cid raised an eyebrow and went over to see. "She was arrested twice, when she was just 13 and when she was 15. The first for pushing a woman down the stairs, and the second, accused of setting her neighbor's pet rabbit on fire." All the men winced. Tifa looked up from her computer screen. "She said a voice told her to do it." Cloud and Zack exchanged a look.

"Do you think she might have some kind of mental illness?" Cloud asked. "Schizophrenia?" Zack shook his head hard.

"Don't say that," he said. "Because if you're right, then Aerith not being the killer is worse news than it is good." Tifa stared grimly at her screen.

"That means there's a chance she's in danger too. Schizophrenics are unpredictable, we can't just think Lucrecia won't hurt her."

"And she's still a serial killer if there's no proof that Lucrecia is actually her twin sister," Zack said. Cid nodded.

"I've spoken to Shera, and she's still keeping the case low-key. She's allowed us to help Aerith in any way possible for now, just as long as the FBI keeps a close watch on things." He smiled and looked at the ducklings.

"Our task now is to protect the good twin… and to find the evil twin."

* * *

**I love chapters like these when everything adds up and it amazes you. Yes, when I first made up this story, Lucrecia was always going to be the evil twin, since she looks like a darker version of Aerith. hehehe**

**Up next... how will the ducklings protect the good twin? And how will they find Lucrecia before it's too late?**


	12. Witness Protection

Cid was a person who knew how and when to take risks in his career.

Being a special agent was all about that, but only the most experienced knew that there was a right time and a wrong time.

Shera knew this as well. She had signed a formal agreement with the FBI that would allow them to investigate with NCIS on the case. This meant there was a better chance of finding Lucrecia.

As she set her glasses down for the day, her eyes caught sight of Zack watching her from the door. She flicked her bangs aside and smiled at him.

"Is there something you need, Zack?" she asked politely. Zack stepped inside, carefully closing the door. He placed a file on her desk. Shera looked confused, giving him a strange look. Zack chuckled.

"Witness Protection for Aerith Gainsborough," he told her. "I'd give them to Elena, but she's out." Shera muttered a soft "oh" and nodded. She took the file and opened it, putting her glasses on again to read them.

"Was this Cid's idea?" Zack nodded. "Wouldn't it be better if we kept her at the Agency?" Zack was about to respond, when Cid barged into the room.

"I wouldn't think leaving her here when a psycho computer genius is roaming about is such a good idea," he said briefly, walking up next to Zack. He smiled mysteriously. "Would it, Madam Director?" The look in his eyes seemed to tell her he had everything under control, but Shera knew better than to tempt fate and question that. She smirked, looking at him over the brim of her glasses.

"No it wouldn't, Agent Highwind." She handed the file back to Zack, standing up. "Could you give us a minute, Zack?"

Cid eyes widened unnoticeably as she said Zack's name. He glanced over at his agent. Zack smiled at Shera, but ceased as he realized his boss was watching. He grinned nervously.

"Sure," he said. He turned around to go, but shot one last glance over his shoulder. "Bye Shera." Shera smiled.

"Bye."

Cid watched him leave, amusement in his eyes. He then looked back at Shera. She shrugged. "What?" Cid raised his eyebrow.

Ever since he took that vacation about a month ago for personal reasons, forcing Zack to replace him as Supervisory temporarily, he had noticed something going on between him and Shera.

Zack was involved in an ongoing operation run by Shera, which was of personal importance to her. As they were keeping secrets, they developed a strong level of trust, which was hard to do without faith in the other person. Cid's absence also allowed Zack to become closer because he was able to interact with the Director much more when he took Cid's job. This made Cid slightly suspicious.

"Since when did you call each other by first names?" he asked. Shera sat back down at her desk and laughed.

"Don't get ideas, Cid," she said. "We're just colleagues." Cid smiled to himself.

"That thought never even applied to me." He slowly moved over behind her, reading the file in her hand. Shera seemed a little uncomfortable with this, so she sat very still.

"So you're planning to keep Ms Gainsborough in Witness Protection?"

"Well… it's not exactly as strict as witness protection." Shera raised an eyebrow. "I just think she should be under surveillance."

"With who? An agent? One of your agent?" Cid straightened up, shrugging.

"What's wrong with that?" he said innocently. Shera scoffed.

"Who?" Cid shrugged again.

"I'll decide on it." The director merely rolled her eyes. Never a straight answer, but she expected as much.

"Okay, whatever you say, Cid." She flicked through her files. "And what about Sephiroth? Isn't he of even more risk than Aerith is?"

"Yeah," Cid said, nodded. "Tifa's bringing him in." Shera tilted her head to him as he made his way towards the door.

"And he'll come face-to-face with Aerith?" Cid stopped and turned around. He let out a sigh.

"I think it's best if he and his people know that this woman isn't the murderer."

* * *

Following Cid's orders before, Cloud was asked to look after Aerith for the rest of the day. He didn't really know what other way there was, so he just kept her around in the office with him as he worked.

They were alone in the office, but neither of them spoke. Cloud worked at his computer as Aerith sat at Zack's desk, fiddling with some pencils, her thoughts a thousand miles away. Cloud looked up from his monitor.

"You okay?" Aerith just nodded, not looking at him.

"Yeah," she muttered. "I'm just thinking." Cloud let out a soft sigh and pushed himself away from his desk.

"You're thinking about Lucrecia, aren't you?" Aerith didn't reply, but then again she didn't have to. He smiled. "Don't worry about her. We'll find her." Aerith shook her head, tilting her head to his direction. She seemed worried nonetheless.

"It's not that," she said softly. "I'm just scared what will happen when I finally meet her." She exhaled deeply, leaning back on Zack's chair. "I mean, I have a sister." Cloud sensed what she might be thinking about, and it wasn't good. He stood up and walked over to her desk.

"You can't feel sorry for her just because she's your sister, Aerith," he said. "Trust me, you might believe it's right, but it's not." Aerith's chair buckled forward and she glared at the blonde man.

"Maybe she didn't mean to kill all those people," she said in a harsh but hurt voice. "Maybe she just wanted to find her family, so she could feel loved!" Cloud shook his head.

"Calm down, Miss Gainsborough…" Aerith knew now that Cloud has descended back to formal term, she was going too far. but she didn't care. Aerith shot up from her seat.

"I know I've never met her, Agent Strife," she said shakily. "But she is my sister and I _will _love her, no matter what she's done." She took a few deep breaths, calming herself from the brink of tears. "She's my family." Her eyes drifted to the ground, drooping her shoulders.

She didn't know why, but she meant every word she said. Lucrecia, even though she knew nothing about her, she was still family. And family was everything.

Cloud put his hand to her chin and gently brought her face up to him. He tilted his head to the side sympathetically and smiled.

"We will find her." A tear fell from Aerith's eye, but she nodded anyway. She sighed wearily and sat back down, resuming back to the pencils. Cloud chuckled a little. He turned away and took out a gemmed necklace from his pocket. He examined the pendant for a moment, turning it around to look at the back.

The gem in the back flashed dimly, but it wasn't like a gem would. It was how an LED would.

Cloud quickly applied a cover over the GPS device, and then turned back around to Aerith. He smiled again.

"I got you a little something." Her face lit up a little as she saw the necklace.

"For me?" Cloud nodded. Aerith stood up and turned around, pulled her hair out of the way as he put it on for her. She turned back around and beamed at him, touching the pendant thoughtfully.

"It's beautiful," she said, smiling. "Thanks." Cloud blushed.

Just then, Zack came down from upstairs, heading straight to his desk. He smirked as he saw Aerith.

"Hey there," he said, pushing Cloud aside carelessly. He eyed the necklace. "Wow, nice bling." Aerith chuckled.

"Thanks. Cloud got it for me." Zack shot an annoyed-looking Cloud a quick glance for about a nanosecond before looking back at Aerith. He sat down on the desk, grinning smugly. He stared deeply, and almost sentimentally, into her eyes.

"You know," he said "Your eyes are the same colour as my Mercedes." Aerith almost burst out laughing.

"You have a green car?" Zack laughed, nodding. He moved closer to her.

"One of many. I'll show you them all if you want." Aerith smirked. "Maybe… I could buy you a drink or something?" Aerith glanced over at Cloud, giving him a Is-he-always-like-this look. Cloud muffled a laugh and nodded.

Just then, the entrance doors slid open, and Tifa emerged, followed by Sephiroth and Loz. Cloud was the first to spot them, and his shocked look immediately alerted Zack, and then Aerith. Her sweet face crumpled into a hard and venomous glare.

Sephiroth and Loz stopped dead in their tracks as they saw Aerith.

"Oh my god," Aerith breathed. "It's you…" She was breathing so hard, all the memories of what Sephiroth had done to her parents came rushing back, as well as her anger and hatred. Forgetting everything around, she launched herself at him, only held back by Zack as he realized what she was attempting to do. Loz saw this as well, and he quickly knocked Tifa and Sephiroth over to a safe corner as he reached for his gun. Aerith continued to struggle to pull free from Zack, and now Cloud, as if under a trance. Tifa jumped to her feet and pulled out her own gun, aiming it at Loz.

"Drop your weapon," she said in a cold monotone. Cid and Shera came rushing down from her office, but they stopped as they saw the scene. Cid pulled out his gun and also aimed it at Loz.

"You don't want to shoot that girl, son," he said loudly. Loz snapped out of it and looked over at him and Shera. Cid smirked. "That isn't the girl you're looking for." Sephiroth sat up from his position, staring at Aerith with icy hatred. Cloud and Zack managed to calm her down, but her eyes remained locked onto Sephiroth's.

"What the hell is going on?" he muttered. Loz finally dropped his gun, letting Tifa pick it up and putting it away. She sighed with relief.

"Long story." Cloud pulled Aerith over to his desk, which was furthest away from Sephiroth and Loz. She glared at him.

"What is going on?" she hissed. "What are they doing here?"

"The Director decided they would be safer here until Lucrecia is caught." Aerith scoffed, crossing her arms. She glanced back at them as they were led away.

"Well, if they're staying here, I'm definitely not."

"And you're not," said a voice behind her. The couple turned around to see Cid. Cloud frowned.

"What do you mean, boss?" This also seemed to confuse Zack and Tifa.

"Are you saying we have to watch her?" Tifa asked. Cid shook his head.

"Not all of you." He smiled. "One of you." The ducklings shared a look. Shera noticed the obvious bafflement, so she decided to sort it out herself.

"Miss Gainsborough is to spend a night under an NCIS agent's surveillance, undercover, so Lucrecia Crescent will not be able to find her. We don't know specifically what will happen when she does, so we can't take any chances." Cid nodded in agreement.

"Yuffie's researched more about our suspect, and we've come to conclusion that she probably has this place wired." He looked at Aerith. "We can't take that chance, because she's probably looking for you, now that you know she's your twin sister. We don't know what she's capable of." Aerith firmly shook her head.

"I want to talk to her," she said breathlessly. "Please… she's probably really scared and confused…" Tifa placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She's schizophrenic, Aerith." she said. "She doesn't know right from wrong. It's too dangerous for you to presume what she's going through." Aerith began to cry. Tifa hugged her closely.

Cid shared a grim look with Shera, exhaling deeply. He turned back to the ducklings.

"She needs to go now." Tifa stepped up first, setting a broken Aerith down on a chair.

"I'll take care of her," she whispered. Both Cid and Shera shook their heads.

"You're too close to her, Agent Lockhart," Shera muttered. "Lucrecia will find her easily that way." Cid looked over to the other two.

Zack's face lit up, putting on a dazzling smile as Cid looked at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but Cid stopped him.

"No." Zack blinked, confused.

"What?"

"I said _no_," Cid muttered again. He then turned to Cloud. "It's you, Strife." Cloud's eyes widened.

"Me?" he said, stunned. Cid nodded. "But… why?"

"Because you're more likely not to jump our innocent than Fair." Zack let out a scoff, crossing his arms in a sulk. Tifa giggled at him.

"But…" Cloud began. "But I let you down last time." Shera shook her head.

"Last time was not your fault. It wasn't even Miss Gainsborough, so technically you never did anything wrong." She cast a sad look at Aerith, who was still crying. She went over and placed a hand on her back. Aerith looked up at her, a little shocked. She smiled. "Agent Strife took good care of you last time. you'll be safe with him." Aerith dropped her gaze from her, but nodded. Shera stepped away and placed a black jacket, a hat and a pair of sunglasses on the table. She looked over at Cloud.

"Make sure no one sees you leave." Cloud obeyed. He silently helped Aerith out of her seat and applied the items to her. He untied her hair, hiding it under her coat and set the hat on top of her head, and the glasses over her eyes.

She was almost unrecognizable.

Tifa gave both Cloud and Aerith a hug for good luck, and they both left without a word out the door. Cid watched them for a moment, then turned to face Zack and Tifa with the usual Cid glare.

"What are you two still doing? Get back to work and find this psycho!" The ducklings immediately jumped back to their desks and started work straight away. Shera gave Cid a smirk.

"You never lose that touch, do you?" Cid merely chuckled, and he went back upstairs to the Director's office. Shera gazed at him for a moment before following.

* * *

Once outside, Aerith suddenly felt that presence again. The one she got when inside the cell and when she was at home. It felt like someone was watching her. She stopped just a few feet away from the car. Cloud reached for the door to let her in. He glanced at her, frowning.

"Sweetheart," he called out. He didn't know what else to call her, now that they were in public. Aerith snapped out of it and looked at him. "Are you okay?" Aerith plastered on a smiled and nodded. She adjusted her hat.

"Yeah," she replied, hugging herself. She went over to him. "Just a little cold." She stepped into the car, and he closed the door for her. She looked continued to look around the area, unable to shake off the feeling. Cloud jumped into the car and started the engine.

Little did he know, that someone really was watching them. In a far corner in the bushes, Lucrecia watched. She could barely breathe in the small space she was in, but she remained quiet. She watched as Aerith got in the car, still scanning around for something, and she watched the car drive off. Lucrecia let out a sad sigh.

"Sis…" She reached out her hand, as if wanting the car to just stop, but it didn't. Her green eyes saddened for a moment, but she managed a smile. She opened up her jacket and stared at the file, the precious, precious file before zipping it back up. She gazed upwards at the sky.

It was getting dark.


	13. Face To Face

**Cloud's going to act very McGee-ish in this chapter. :) This whole scene actually happened in an episode called "Bloodbath", and it was with McGee and Abby.**

* * *

There wasn't much Cloud could do that night, but then again he didn't do much after work.

It was just him, Aerith and his laptop.

It was around midnight now, and Aerith had gone to investigate inside Cloud's house, snooping around everywhere. Cloud had given up on trying to make her sit down and watch TV in the living room where he could see her, so he simply waited until she went through everything.

He sat at his desk in the room, typing up something on his laptop. The TV was still on, but he didn't mind. He glanced up as he heard Aerith's footsteps approaching from the bedroom.

She twirled around happily in her size too-big pajamas, making her long brown hair fly all around her. She smiled sweetly at him.

"This is a really cute apartment," she said. "I love your curtains." Cloud chuckled softly, looking back at his screen.

"Thanks," he replied. "They're new." Aerith hopped over to see what he was doing.

"What's this?" she asked, pushing him over to see. She pushed him off the chair onto the ground. Cloud let out a groan and got up, looking irritated. Aerith barely noticed, more interested in his typing.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, trying to stop her reading his work. "Aerith! That's mine!" Aerith let out a laugh.

"What is this? Are you writing a novel?" She put her hand on the mouse and scrolled, laughing with disbelief. "_Zeke_? _Tina_? Agent _Cedric _and… Director _Sherry_?" She gave Cloud a weird look. "Are these about your colleagues?" Cloud flushed a shade of red. He pushed the chair away from the desk and closed the laptop. He sighed wearily, looking back at an amused Aerith.

"No…" he said bluntly. "It's… it's a fiction I'm working on." Aerith giggled. "It's purely fiction, I swear." She hugged her knees, still wearing the mischievous smile on her face.

"I didn't say anything." Cloud blushed even more, extremely embarrassed. He quickly glanced at his watch.

"Uh…" He cleared his throat. "It's pretty late. Why don't you go to bed?" Aerith shook her head.

"I can't," she said, blinking in a childlike manner. Cloud quirked an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"I forgot my toothbrush."

"You forgot your toothbrush?" Aerith smiled again and nodded. She stood up and went up to him, still smiling like a cute little girl. This seemed to make Cloud a little uneasy.

"Couldn't you just chew some gum?" he suggested, stuttering a little. Aerith shook her head.

"I can't sleep without that clean feeling in my mouth," she said truthfully. "I mean, can you?" Cloud gave her a strange look, but then sighed. He turned and walked over to the bathroom door and peered inside. He looked over his shoulder at her, and the look on her face told her what she wanted. He straightened up and shook his head.

"I am _not _going back to your house and getting your toothbrush for you." Aerith stuck out her lower lip and shrugged, clapping her hands behind her back.

"Oh well," she said lightly. She grinned. "Looks like I'm gonna have to use your toothbrush."

Cloud let out a soft, defeated sigh. He knew he couldn't win this game.

"Okay," he said wearily. "I think I have a spare toothbrush somewhere in the car." Aerith beamed.

"Great!" Cloud headed towards the door, but then stopped and turned back at her. His face was serious.

"No matter what you do, don't open that door." Aerith nodded, again like a kid. She must have eaten something with alot of sugar. Cloud sighed again.

"I mean it, Aerith," he said sternly. "Don't open that door for anyone." Aerith smiled.

"I know, I know." Cloud stared at her for a moment, making sure she wouldn't do anything stupid, before exiting out the door.

After she was sure he was gone, she leapt over to his desk and started reading his typing. She giggled a little.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Not thinking twice, she jumped out of the chair and went ahead to open it. Cloud threw up his hands.

"I told you not to open it for anyone!" he exclaimed. Aerith laughed.

"Sorry, I forgot." Cloud gave her another look.

"Okay. This time, _please _don't open it." Aerith nodded like she did before, and he left. She closed the door and resumed her reading.

A few seconds later, there was another knock. She smiled to herself, assuming it was Cloud again. She jumped out of the chair like she did before, rushing over and opening the door.

But it wasn't Cloud.

Aerith's smile vanished almost immediately as she saw who it was. Her breath got caught in her throat, her blood froze, she couldn't move as she stared at what seemed like her mirror reflection. The reflection smiled, a rather warm and non-threatening smile, at her.

"Hey, sis," she said softly. Aerith didn't respond. She couldn't respond.

As Lucrecia began approaching her, she raised her hand towards Aerith's neck. Terrified, the only thing Aerith could do was slowly back away. She didn't see the rug behind her, so she tripped backwards. Lucrecia towered over her, still slowly reaching for her neck. Aerith began breathing faster and faster, her life flashing in front of her own eyes. She whimpered with fright as Lucrecia's hand moved closer and closer to her neck, the only thought in her mind was that she was about to be strangled to death.

Lucrecia smiled again, but instead of grabbing Aerith's neck, she grabbed the necklace and jerked it off. She threw it aside onto the rug, and looked back at a stunned Aerith. Taking a step away, she watched as her twin sister slowly got up off the floor, still in shock over what could have happened to her. Aerith let out a soft gasp, staring wide-eyed at the fugitive.

"Lucrecia…" she breathed.

* * *

Cloud came back into the building, holding a brand new toothbrush in his hand. He was still slightly annoyed at Aerith's act in getting him to get fetch it, but not as much.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his front door was wide open.

Fearing the worst, he dropped the toothbrush and ran as fast as he could to his apartment.

"AERITH!" he yelled. He searched everywhere inside the rooms, but he couldn't find her anywhere. He quickly pulled out the homing device from his pocket and switched it on. He frowned at it.

There was a blinking light, but that meant Aerith was still in the apartment. He looked around at the ground, and that was when he saw it.

The necklace. 

He rushed over and picked it up, panic overtaking him. He took out his cell phone and dialed as fast as he could.

"Boss… she's gone."


	14. Trust Me

**You can definitely recognize a Gibbs-DiNozzo conversation in here. xD**

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking, Probie?!"

Zack, Tifa, Cid, Barret and a whole team of FBI agents were all over Cloud's apartment in a matter of minutes. Cid and Barret barely muttered a word, but Zack and Tifa, especially Zack, were all over him.

"You went outside to get her a toothbrush?!" Zack exclaimed, outraged. Cloud kept his eyes on his feet.

"I know," he mumbled. "I should've stayed here with her, no matter what." Tifa put her hands on her hips and shook her head with disbelief.

"I can't believe you left her alone, Cloud," she said angrily. "What if Lucrecia came for her? What if she hurts her?" Huh?" Cloud bit into his lip, still not looking at either of his colleagues. Tifa held the necklace in front of him, forcing it in his face. "And from what I see, Lucrecia came for her!" Cloud lifted his head to look at her, very annoyed.

"I know! You think she'd rip that thing off by herself?!" He snatched the necklace out of Tifa's hand. "There was no way she would even think it was a homing device." Zack shook his head, frowning.

"So, how in the world did _Lucrecia _know that was a homing device, then?" Suddenly, he felt someone slap the back of his head. Cid brushed past him from behind, closely followed by Barret. Cloud quickly rushed after him.

"Boss," he said. "I know I messed up, but—" Cid stopped and spun around, a serious look on his face.

"You're lucky Aerith wasn't killed right here in your apartment, Strife," he said, his voice emotionless. Cloud sighed and nodded.

"I'm sorry, boss." Cid quickly slapped the back of Cloud's head abruptly, much to his surprise.

"Never say you're sorry, Strife!" he said hotly. Cloud jumped and rubbed the back of his head. "It's a sign of weakness." Cloud stiffened, nodding quickly.

"Yes, boss." Zack snickered behind him, only silenced when Tifa nudged her elbow hard into his rib. Cid glanced over at Barret beside him.

"Your people have basically covered the entire ground around Strife's building." The FBI agent nodded. "Anything yet?"

"Well, it's only been about ten minutes," Barret replied, shrugging. "But so far we've found that her wallet, her jacket and her shoes are missing as well, so she probably didn't put up a fight to go." Cid nodded. He looked back at the ducklings, who were watching him.

"What the heck are you still doing here?!" he snapped. He waved his hand to the door. "Go look for her!" The duckling jumped and quickly took out their torches and headed for the exit, Zack leading the way. Suddenly, Zack stopped in his tracks, consequently causing Tifa and Cloud to crash and fall over each other. They both glared at Zack, but he ignored them. He gave Cid, who was watching impatiently, a confused stare.

"Uh…" He laughed nervously. "This may sound like a stupid question, boss…" Cid kept staring. "But, uh, where exactly are we looking?" Cid sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand.

"Where would a pair of emotionally-torn twin orphans who have never met go together?" The ducklings, and Barret, still weren't leading on.

"The… ice cream store?" Zack suggested. Cid rolled his eyes.

"The cemetery, Fair!" he shouted. "The cemetery!" It finally hit them. "Go!" He waved his hands furiously, shooing them out the door. He let out a puff and shook his head as he watched them go. Barret studied his friend carefully.

"How would you know about that, Cid?" he asked. Cid just smiled mysteriously. He turned back around and gathered up his gear. He heaved a sigh and headed for the door, past Barret.

"They'd want answers from the parents," he muttered.

* * *

Lucrecia watched as Aerith kneeled down in front of a grave.

It was really dark. They were the only people in the entire area. Lucrecia made extra sure no one saw them, extra sure.

Aerith smiled sadly as she raised her hand onto the tombstone, running her fingers along the engravings of_ Faremis Gast _and_ Ifalna Gast. _Lucrecia watched her, seeing an emotion in her sister she never knew existed. It was as if she was sad, happy, angry and tormented all at the same time. She glanced between Aerith and their parents' graves.

Her family.

Lucrecia clutched the small package of gummi bears that Aerith bought her tightly, as if afraid to come too close to her parents. Her black ribbon hung down loosely from her hair, she hadn't even bothered tying it back up. She just stood there and watched.

Aerith let out a sniffle and cleared her throat, glancing at Lucrecia behind her. She smiled as Lucrecia stared with uncertainty.

"It's okay," she muttered softly, raising her hand up to her. "Come on." Lucrecia took a deep breath and she slowly allowed Aerith to pull her down to one knee. She stared at the tombstones, suddenly feeling sad.

It was something she hadn't felt for a long time, if not ever. She never did know her real parents, but for some reason she felt like she wanted to know them. Maybe they would have loved her if they knew she was still alive, maybe if they never died, she would have had a chance to get to know them, and become family. Lucrecia felt Aerith's hand on her shoulder. She glanced over at her with sparkling eyes.

"What were Mom and Dad like?" she asked. Aerith chuckled softly, looking back at the grave. She sighed, brushing away the weeds are the foot of her mother's tombstone.

"They were the most kind and caring people you could ever meet," she said. "Mom… she was a nurse like me, and she was just so beautiful, inside and out." She smiled to herself. "I still remember when she was alive, she would always put my needs before hers. She'd even drive all the way to Junon and back just so I could do a science project." Lucrecia laughed, taking a nibble of a red gummi bear. "No matter what it was, she'd do it. She would have given up anything for a loved one." Aerith shook her head, sighing. "That was just the person she was." She smiled again as her hand touched the words_ Faremis Gast._

"Now, Dad," Aerith laughed. "He was the opposite. Always so protective of me. Probably because he worked for a government agency." Lucrecia's eyes widened with astonishment, even though inside she knew it already. Aerith laughed again, remembering back. "I remember when I brought my first boyfriend home, he went into his commando mode and scared the poor guy off." The twins shared a laugh. "Yeah… I used to hate him for that, but I knew he was only doing what he thought best for me. Because he cared so much about me." She sighed sadly again, placing her hand down at her side. She gazed at her parents.

"They were good people," Aerith said softly. Lucrecia shifted on her spot a little. She hugged her arms.

"Do you think…" she began. Aerith looked over at her. "Do you think they would've liked me?" Aerith's eyes saddened for her sister.

She knew Lucrecia would have wanted nothing more than a loving family, the one she never got to know. Aerith smiled and stroked Lucrecia's hair, gently removing the messy ribbon.

"They would have definitely loved you, Elle." Lucrecia giggled at her newfound nickname, popping another red gummi bear. Aerith glanced down at the packet and dipped her hand in. She laughed as she saw there were no red gummi bears left.

"You sure love the red ones, don't you?" she laughed. She pulled out an orange and ate it. Lucrecia nodded, standing up. Aerith followed.

"They've always been my favourite." Aerith smiled. She then suddenly noticed that something was inside her jacket.

Something flat and thick. Something that looked alot like a…

"Is that the file?" Aerith asked, reaching her hand to pull it out. Lucrecia immediately snatched it away violently, all the warmth in her green eyes evaporated as Aerith's hand touched her jacket. Her eyes were now piercing, scared and threatening. Aerith withdrew her hand, shocked at Lucrecia's sudden change. Lucrecia backed away from her, breathing heavily. Aerith cautiously tried approaching her.

"I wasn't going to take it," she said softly, careful to keep her voice low. Lucrecia still didn't let her guard down. Aerith took a deep breath and decided to take a risk. She took a steady step towards her. "Elle…"

Lucrecia pulled a gun out of her pocket as soon as Aerith's foot touched the ground and pointed it at her own head. Aerith froze in horror.

"Come any closer and I'll do it!" Lucrecia cried. "I will!" Aerith raised her hands in defense, rooted to the ground. She shook her head.

"You can't keep hiding it forever, Elle," she whispered. "You have to give that file to NCIS, that's the only way Sephiroth can pay for what he did to our parents." Lucrecia began to cry, not lowering her gun.

"No! They won't see it like that! They'll look at me as the bad guy! They'll take me away, Aerith! They'll put me back in that institution!" Her hand began to tremble as she sobbed. "I can't go back there, sis. I can't!" Aerith slowly moved closer.

"I won't let anything happen to you," she said firmly. "But I can't let you torture yourself like this anymore." Lucrecia dissolved into tears, giving Aerith a chance to grab her wrist and pull the gun away safely. She held her twin sister closely as she cried into her shoulder.

"I didn't mean to hurt all those people," Lucrecia muttered. "I don't know why I killed them…" Aerith sighed.

She couldn't help but feel that there was something about Lucrecia. Whether she was just a really good actress or had a split personality, Aerith knew she couldn't take a chance and assume. She decided the best way was to probably play along and not touch a nerve.

"I know, sweetie," she said. "I believe you." She pulled away and eyed the file in Lucrecia's jacket. She helped her stand up.

"But Sephiroth has gone free long enough." She waited a moment just in case Lucrecia was to do something crazy again. Aerith tucked the gun away and stared her sister straight in the eye. She smiled feebly.

"Give me the file," she muttered. She cupped Lucrecia's jaw gently. "Please. I'll give it to NCIS so you don't have to." She again tried to take the file, but Lucrecia reacted the same way. "Please… trust me."

Lucrecia studied Aerith for a long moment, but eventually some strange force urged her to give the file. She obeyed it. Aerith beamed and hugged her.

"Thank you," she whispered. Lucrecia smiled to herself. They pulled apart and Aerith took her hands.

"I wish we could watch the trial together," Lucrecia said sadly. She glanced up and down at Aerith, examining every feature. Aerith squeezed her hands.

"Why won't you come back with me?" she said. Lucrecia's eyes widened with fear again. "No, I… I'll explain everything to them. I promise." Lucrecia pulled her hands out of her grip and took a step back.

"I'll end up in a prison or a mental institution again, sis," she told her. "I can't go back there. It… was awful when they locked me up." Aerith bit her lip.

She knew it was true; whatever explanation she could come up with, the killer would be pointed at Lucrecia. there was no way out. None.

Aerith managed a weak smile. She pulled out another package of gummi bears and some money from her pocket and handed it to Lucrecia. She gave her back the black ribbon.

"Okay," she said gently. "But… just be careful, and don't hurt anyone." Lucrecia nodded. Aerith heaved a deep sigh, hoping to smile one last time for the night. "Take care of yourself." Lucrecia smiled.

"I will." They hugged again, this time more tightly.

"You're my family, so just know that I love you no matter what," Aerith told her. "Okay?" Lucrecia beamed.

"Okay," she replied. Suddenly, Lucrecia glanced over Aerith's shoulder at something, her assassin alert back on. Aerith followed her gaze, confused.

"What is it?" she asked. Lucrecia quickly gathered everything, ready to run.

"Someone's coming," she murmured. She spun around and pulled her hood over her head, and at that, she darted out of sight within a second, leaving a baffled Aerith behind, still holding the file.

Only about ten seconds later did she hear the sound of footsteps.

"Aerith!" It was Cloud's voice. She turned to look behind her. She saw Cloud, Tifa and Zack run towards her, all of them looking worried. Tifa got to her first and she scooped Aerith into a rib-crushing hug.

"Thank god you're alright," she said breathlessly. Aerith just grinned, a little embarrassed. Zack pulled out his phone and called Cid immediately.

"We found her, boss." Cloud stopped to catch his breath beside him, but his eyes were on Aerith.

"I told you not to open the door," he told her. Aerith blushed, staring down at the ground.

"I know," she said softly. "I'm sorry." Cloud pulled her away from Tifa and took her by the shoulders, staring her straight in the eye. She could see how worried he must have been.

"What if something had happened to you?" he said. "What if Lucrecia hurt you? How do you think I could live with myself if she did?" Aerith placed her hands on his chest, smiling gently.

"I'm fine," she said reassuringly. She patted his cheek playfully. "There's nothing to worry about." Zack noticed the file, and he instantly knew what had happened.

"But Lucrecia did come for you, didn't she?" he said. Aerith glanced at him, then at the file. She sighed and nodded, handing it to him. Tifa looked around.

"Was she here?" she asked. Aerith nodded again. "Did she do anything to you?"

"No," Aerith replied darkly. "Nothing to me." She hugged herself, remembering what Lucrecia did. "She wouldn't agree to come back to NCIS. She's still frightened." She pointed at the file as Zack and Cloud examined it. "But I think she gave you what you need on the Cetra Case."

Cloud and Zack could barely believe what they saw inside that file. Gruesome as all of it was, it was hardcore proof. Zack was astounded.

"This…" He couldn't even put words together. "This is amazing." He shook his head with disbelief. "Sephiroth could be put up for life for this." Aerith nodded.

She suddenly felt that tingling feeling like she was being watched again. She glanced around, but there was no one else there. She hugged herself again.

Cloud placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her out of her thoughts. He took off his NCIS jacket and wrapped it around her warmly. He smiled.

"I think we should deal with that matter tomorrow," he said, glancing back at Zack and Tifa. "Let's call it a night." Tifa scoffed.

"But Lucrecia's still out there!" She looked back at Aerith. "Aerith, where--" Zack raised his hand and silenced her.

"Rule number 12," he said matter-of-factly. "Never put an innocent's life in danger more than once." Tifa raised an eyebrow at him as they headed back.

"I thought Number 12 was: _Never date a coworker_." Zack winced. He closed his eyes.

"That… those… those are Cid's rules," he stammered. "These are mine! Fair's Numéro Douze!" He held up his fingers, glaring at an amused Tifa.

"Okay, fine," she said, laughing. "I guess the FBI could just take it from here." She brushed past him as he flushed a deep red.

Tifa walked up beside Cloud and bumped his shoulder playfully.

"I'll listen to you this time, kid," she mumbled. She smiled over at Aerith.

"We'll deal with Lucrecia tomorrow."

* * *

**The nickname Aerith gives Lucrecia was originally supposed to be _Lucy_, but I changed it to _Elle_, which is also understandable. I've planned that Lucrecia's birth name is to be Ellis Gast, Ellis being a play off the name "Aeolus", the Greek god of the winds. :) Pretty cool fact, huh?**

**Well, you can clearly see how unbalanced Lucrecia is. Please people, this is not a romance! Pay attention to the storyline, not the fluff in between!**

**Next: The ducklings prepare for the worst when they are called up to the Director's office by a very angry Shera…**


End file.
